UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA 
AT    LOS  ANGELES 


] 


GIFT  OF 

L.    B.    FORD 


••'*v 


Benvenuto  Cellini 
Memoirs 


Hantimarfes  of  Civilisation 


BF.XVEXLTO   CELLINI 
From  a  painting  by  Giorgio  Vasari 


Memoirs 


of 
Benvenuto   Cellini 

Translated  by  John  Addington  Symonds 

With  a  Critical  and  Biographical  Introduction 
by  John  C.  Van  Dyke 

Illustrated 


\   ■>   -  r 


New  York 

D.  Appleton  and  Company 

1904 


\ 


134065 


COHVRIGHT,    1898, 

By  D.  APPLETON   AND   COMPANY. 


\ 


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BENVENUTO   CELLINI 


>  ♦  ♦  * 


THE  word  "  Renaissance  "  as  used  in  history  has  always 
gone  begging  for  a  definition.  No  one  has  as  yet  been 
able  to  pin  it  down  with  an  aphoristic  sentence.  Ety- 
mologically,  we  translate  it  and  read  "  new  birth,"  but  our 
comprehension  is  little  increased  thereby.  For,  to  come  at 
once  to  the  cause,  the  Renaissance  in  Italy  was  not  any  one 
thing,  but  many  things  in  one.  The  revival  of  learning  and 
the  development  of  science  and  art  were  only  parts,  integral 
factors,  in  the  awakening.  Moreover,  they  came  into  Italian 
life  beset  by  many  complex  impulses,  that  rose  and  fell  like 
waves  upon  the  sea.  No  movement  of  the  time  was  regular 
or  rhythmical.  Cross-waves  of  contradiction  broke  in  along 
the  line,  and  frequently  threw  everything  into  confusion.  In- 
deed, the  discords  were  as  strongly  marked  as  the  harmonies, 
and  the  longer  we  study  the  epoch  the  more  paradoxical 
become  its  different  elements.  Certainly  the  times  were  very 
good,  and  yet  just  as  certainly  the  times  were  very  bad.  Study 
and  learning  were  the  passions  of  the  age,  yet  ignorance  and 
superstition  stalked  in  the  highest  circles.  The  period  was 
remarkable  for  its  intellectual  and  artistic  strength,  and  yet 
it  was  hatched  and  cross-hatched  by  social  and  moral  weak- 
nesses. Every  virtue  seemed  to  have  a  vice  for  a  foil,  and 
every  good  had  its  leaven  of  evil. 

/The  versatile  but  somewhat  irresponsible  Italian  mind  was 
at  the  bottom  of  all  this.  To  be  sure,  there  were  men  who 
were  distinctly  good,  as  there  were  others  distinctly  bad;  but 
the  middle  man  in  whom  were  blended  the  saint  and  the  sin- 
ner was  frequent  enough  to  form  a  type.  One  side  of  his 
nature  was  often  aspiring,  inventive,  artistic,  philosophical; 
the  other  side  was  quite  as  often  skeptical,  treacherous,  im- 

iii 


iv  BENVENUTO   CELLINI 

moral,  polluted.  He  could  doubt  and  he  could  believe  with 
equal  freedom;  he  could  be  cultured  and  yet  debased;  he 
could  saturate  himself  with  crime  and  corruption,  yet  rhapso- 
dize over  things  aesthetic  and  kneel  at  the  altar  of  Christianity. 
Our  nineteenth-century  wonder  at  this  strange  marriage  of 
Beauty  and  the  Beast  is  perhaps  pardonable.  How  a  man 
could  be  enlightened,  refined,  devout,  brave,  and  yet  break 
almost  every  one  of  the  ten  commandments  we  fail  to  under- 
stand. For  it  is  not  an  instance  of  conscious  falling  from 
grace,  not  a  matter  of  corrupting  influence  wherein  the  toe 
of  the  rascal  galls  the  kibe  of  the  honest  man;  it  is  the  honest 
man  himself  given  to  fits  of  rascality.  Princes,  dukes,  cardi- 
nals, citizens,  all  had  their  little  spells  of  throat-cutting,  poi- 
soning, lying,  stealing,  cheating;  after  which  they  confessed, 
received  absolution,  and  then  went  gaily  on  with  the  game 
of  life.  :Did  they  consider  their  deeds  rascally?  Perhaps; 
and  yet  intellectual  perception  does  not  necessarily  argue 
moral  development,  t  From  the  jaunty  way  the  Renaissance 
people  carried  their  vices  we  might  think  there  was  some 
confusion  of  mind  as  to  whether  these  vices  were  not  vir- 
tues. Surely  the  moral  sense  of  the  age  was  not  that  of  our 
time,  and  surely  in  Italian  civilization  the  intellectual  came 
to  maturity  before  the  ethical.!  Acts  that  we  look  back  upon 
with  something  of  a  sjiudder,  they  probably  never  regarded 
as  incompatible  with  received  social  usage,'  Indeed,  the 
true  way  to  get  their  peculiar  point  of  view  is  to  allow  one 
of  their  number  to  tell  about  the  men  and  manners  of  his 
time  as  he  knew  them.  Fortunately,  such  a  tale  exists  for 
us  in  the  "  Memoirs "  of  Benvenuto  Cellini.  '  Benvenuto 
himself  was  one  of  the  most  enlightened  rascals  of  the  ad- 
vanced Renaissance.  He  was  an  accomplished  goldsmith  and 
sculptor,  moving  in  court  and  ecclesiastical  circles,  a  devout 
son  of  the  Church,  an  impulsive  bravo,  a  cool  murderer,  an 
';  individual  of  indifferent  honesty,  unbounded  conceit,  and  un- 

/    varying  fickleness,  and  yet  to  hear  him  tell  it  he  is  not  a  bad 

man  at  all.    He  recites  his  autobiography  without  a  suspicion 

,   of  apology.    It  is  a  record  of  which  he  is  proud,  not  a  defence 

^  made  by  a  culprit.\  iknd  after  reading  his  story  if  we  do  not 
take  sides  with  him  we  at  least  understand  better  the  view 
of  life  and  conduct  held  in  the  sixteenth  century.!  --The  value 


of  the  book  lies  just  here.     It  is  an  original  document^from 


-5[h  e  \ 
ment"! 


BENVENUTO   CELLINI  v 

which  history  derives  and  its  aathor  has  not  only  drawn  for 
j  us  his  own  profile  clear  cut  against  the  dark  background  of 
the  Renaissance,  but  has  illustrated  the  social  and  artistic  life 
of  his  tiiije.' 

*^^envenuto  came  at  a  ;tirring  period  in  Italian  affairs. 
Politically,  matters  were  <t  the  fever  point.  Wars  and  ru- 
mours of  wars  were  to  be  heard  in  every  Italian  city.  As  a 
boy  he  saw  the  pallc  of  the  restored  Medici  placed  over  the 
red  cross  of  Florence;  and  as  a  man  he  knew  the  clash  of 
popes,  kings,  and  emperors,  the  sack  of  Rome,  the  siege  of 
Florence,  the  plague  and  all  its  attendant  horrors.  But  these_j 
were  piping  times  of  peace,  too,  for  some  persons,  r^  The 
scholar  in  his  library,  the  monk  in  his  cell,  the  artist  in  his 
bottcga,  studied,  prayed,  and  wrought  unmindful  of  passing 
powers.  Sadoleto,  Bembo,  Michelangelo,  and  Titian  were 
still  alive,  and  it  might  be  thought  that  Benvenuto  the  gold- 
smith would  pursue  the  quiet  life  of  the  craftsman  and  leave 
wars  to  great  folk.  But  no;  that  was  not  the  temperament  of 
the  man.  He  was  an  artist  by  inclination  and  ambition,  but 
at  heart  he  was  also  a  brawler,  a  swashbuckler,  a  man 
action.  He  tells  us  that  before  he  was  fifteen  he  had  had 
adventures  enough  to  stock  a  long  narrative,  and  before  hey 
died  he  had  heaped  up  quarrels  and  encounters  innumerable.* 
His  spirit  was  more  fiery  than  Hotspur's,  and  he  was  always 
dropping  tools  and  taking  to  horse  to  escape  the  consequences 
of  some  fatal  fight.  ^  As  he  tells  the  story,  the  other  party  ^ 
was  always  in  the  wrong,  and  he  (Benvenuto)  was  only  de- 
fending himself  like  a  gentleman;  but  it  is  remarkable  how 
many  times  he  was  called  upon  to  defend  himself,  and  how 
often  he  left  his  antagonist  stretched  upon  the  field.  His  re- 
gard for  human  life  was  small,  and  he  rather  enjoyed  being  in 
a  scrimmage.  He  clairned  the  credit  of  having  killed  Charles 
of  Bourbon,  as  thougl/it  were  some  sort  of  virtuous  action, 
and  at  the  siege  of  Rome,  with  the  Pope  beside  him  on  the 
battlements  of  St.  Angelo,  he  had  right  royal  sport  shooting 
at  the  people  in  the  city  below.  "  There  never  passed  a  day  ^' 
that  I  did  not  kill  some  of  the  enemy  outside."  Both  his  Holi- 
ness and  Benvenuto  were  nearly  convulsed  on  one  occasion 
at  the  manner  in  which  a  cannon-shot  cut  a  man  clean  in  two. 
It  was  a  very  interesting  business,  and  any  fear  of  future 
consequences  that  Benvenuto  may  have  felt  was  done  away 


of    , 

ofll 


vi  BENVENUTO   CELLINI 

I ^ with  because  he  was  "defending  the  Church,"  and,  besides, 
11  the  Pope  was  there  and  absolved  him  on  the  spot. 

Benvenuto's  private  brawls  were  more  serious  matter,  and 
after  using  his  knife  on  Pompco,  a  rival  goldsmith,  and  again 
on  the  musketeer  who  killed  his  brother,  he  had  to  fly  or  seek 
asylum  with  some  powerful  cardi  lal  until  the  trouble  blew 
v^^     over  and  the  Pope  gave  him  a  safe  conduct.    And  yet  Benve- 
jhf  nuto   never   for  an   instant   considered   himself   a   murderer. 
li  He  was  a  man  of  spirit  resenting  an  insult  with  his  dagger  or 
*  '   sword,  as  was  the  custom  of  the  day.     To  be  sure,  he  vapor- 
ized about  it  with  unnecessary  energy.     He  swaggered  and 
boasted  and  repeated  his  own  praises  in  a  way  that  was  almost 
boyish.     He  talked  the  same  way  about  his  meeting  with 
princes    and    kings,    his    controversies    and    arguments    with 
patrons,  his  contests  in  art  with  master  goldsmiths  and  sculp- 
tors.    It  is  a  wonder  his  conceit  did  not  choke  him  to  death. 
But  for  all   his  magnificent  threats  and  boasts,  for  all   his 
egotism  and  his  vanity,  Benvenuto  was  certainly  not  a  coward. 
His  hot  head  drove  him  forward  into  any  and  every  sort  of 
danger,  but  when  the  test  came  he  did  not  flinch.     Indeed, 
the  man's  career  might  be  repulsive  to  read  about  were  it  not 
for  his  daring  spirit,  his  unconquerable  bravery.     For  robbers 
and  assassins  he  did  not  so  much  as  turn  aside;  at  the  siege 
of  Rome  he  took  charge  of  the  guns  on  the  walls  of  St.  Angelo 
because  no  one  else  dared  do  it;  and  under  Paul  III  what 
tortures  he  endured  as  a  prisoner  in  that  same  castle  of  St. 
Angelo!     Then  came  that  final  dare-devil  piece  of  bravery — 
the  escape  down  the  wall  of  the  castle  at  night,  clear  from 
the    foot    of   the    angel    to    the    ground    below,    by    knotted 
strips  torn  from  his  bed  linen.     In  getting  over  the  second 
rampart  he  fell,  tore  his  hands,  broke  his  leg,  became  sense- 
less from  striking  on  his  head.     When  he  came  to  himself, 
he  took  his  dagger  in  his  hand  and,  trailing  his  broken  leg, 
crawled  on  his  hands  and  knees  to  the  city  gate,  gnawed  his 
y^ay  in  like  a  rat,  and  got  to  the  house  of  friends.    Was  there 
/  ever  a  more  tragic  picture  than  that  man  in  the  gray  light 
'    of  morning  dragging  himself  along  the  deserted  streets,  his 
head  and  hands  covered  with  blood,  and  yet  with  the  spirit 
I     of  a  wounded  animal  turning  to  fight  off  the  street  dogs  with 
his  dagger?    No,  there  was  no  cowardice  in  Benvenuto! 
Nor  was  he  a  bearer  of  false  witness,  as  some  have  chosen 


/ 


BENVENUTO   CELLINI  vii 

-to  call  him.  Much  of  his  narrative  is  substantiated  by  con- 
[/ temporary  historians.  Of  course,  he  exaggerated,  for  his  im- 
agination was  perfervid.  The  boy  who  saw  salamanders  in 
]  the  fire,  the  man  who  beheld  legions  of  devils  in  the  Coliseum 
at  night  and  angels  in  his  cell  in  the  castle  of  St.  Angelo,  was 
likely  to  see  a  plain  matter  of  cutting  and  slashing  in  distorted 
proportions,  especially  if  he  happened  to  be  one  of  the  inter- 
ested parties.  'Besides,  a  tale  grows  with  the  telling,  and  Ben- 
venuto  was  an  old  man  when  he  began  the  "  Memoirs."  He 
had  become  a  celebrated  man,  too,  and  naturally  took  him- 
self more  seriously  than  perhaps  was  warranted.  But  he  did 
not  mean  to  prevaricate.  He  told  the  truth  as  he  knew  it,  / 
and  if  the  record  was  a  little  warped  by  superstition  or  the 
eye  of  a  visionary,  it  is  not  matter  for  wonderment.  In  the 
main  he  spoke  plainly  and  honestly.  Plain  speaking  was  one 
of  his  most  characteristic  traits,  and  to  some  persons  of  his 
time  he  mvist  have  shown  it  with  uncomfortable  frankness. 
His  audacity  was  something  superb.  It  was  not  that  he 
abused  rival  artists  and  citizens  as  blockheads,  but  sometimes 
he  talked  to  popes  and  kings  as  though  they  w^ere  little  better 
than  'prentice  boys.  Vasari  said  he  "  knew  how  to  speak  his 
mind  to  princes."  Yes,  he  did.  He  told  Duke  Cosimo  that 
he  knew  nothing  about  metal-casting,  and  should  not  criticise; 
he  accused  Clement  VII  of  breaking  faith  with  him;  he  was 
impudent  to  Francis  I;  and  he  flouted  more  than  on^  cardi- 
nal. It  is  remarkable  that  he  died  a  natural  death.  There  ' 
were  plots  to  assassinate  him,  and  he  had  to  wear  a  steel 
shirt;  twice  he  was  poisoned;  Clement  ordered  him  to  be 
hanged;  Paul  had  him  in  prison,  and  intended  to  have  him 
flayed  alive  or  starved  to  death.  It  was  his  too  truthful  tongue 
that  mide  trouble  for  him  at  every  turn,  and  we  can  readily 
believe  t'l^t  in  setting  down  these  memories  he  adhered  to  I 
the  facts  as  he  conceived  them.  .— — ' 

Of  his  smaV  vices  Benvenuto  said  little.  Once  he  stole  the 
Pope's  gold,  but  he  owned  up  and  made  restitution.  He  evi- 
dently  objected  tojinrsp-mttmg  if  not  to  throat-cuttingTand 
had  no  notion  of  npruring  as  a  common  rascal  or  a  sneak.  As 
a  lover  he  was  fickle,  and  once  he  dragged  a  woman  about 
by  the  hair  'a  a  way  that  w^as  brutal.  That  was,  however, 
the  only  tine  he  admits  having  played  the  barbarian.  As 
a  rule,  he  vas  refined  in  manner  and  fair  in  his  treatment  of 


viii  BENVENUTO   CELLINI 

others,  being  "  naturally  of  a  charitable  disposition,"  as  he 
puts  it.  His  contemporaries  all  speak  of  him  as  a  man  of 
spirit  and  veracity,  but  too  hot-headed  and  impolitic  in  his 
talk.  His  treatment  of  his  father  and  sisters  was  excellent; 
and  he  appears  to  have  had  some  sentiment  about  him,  too,  if 
we  can  believe  in  his  grief  at  the  death  of  an  illegitimate  son. 
'  He  was  greatly  overcome,  praying  and  giving  thanks  to  God 
for  having  given  him  and  for  taking  him  away.  Then  he 
coolly  comments  on  his  prayer  as  "  making  a  virtue  of 
necessity." 

His  religious  faith  was  on  a  par  with  that  of  others  of  his 
kind.  In  periods  of  trouble  he  used  it  as  a  life-preserver;  in 
periods  of  health  and  peace  he  laid  it  quietly  on  the  shelf.  He 
sang  psalms  and  saw  visions  like  a  saint  when  he  was  in  the 
dungeon  of  St.  Angelo  and  thought  his  end  was  near;  but  he 
no  sooner  got  out  than  he  killed  the  postmaster  at  Siena  and 
rode  ofi  to  Ferrara,  where  he  and  his  friends  had  a  merry 
time  over  the  incident.  As  for  the  Vicegerent  of  God  in  the 
Vatican,  he  thought  Clement  "  a  savage  beast,"  and  Paul 
"  believed  neither  in  God  nor  in  any  other  article  of  religion  "; 
but  Benvenuto  nevertheless  clung  devotedly  to  the  Church, 
and  believed  in  its  power  on  earth  and  in  heaven.  He  kissed 
with  tears  the  feet  of  the  dead  Clement,  he  was  always  ready 
to  receive  absolution,  and  when  he  finally  passed  out  of  this 
world  he  did  so  as  a  son  of  the  most  holy  Church  and  with  all 
the  ecclesiastical  comforts. 
^  The  absorbing  passion  of  his  life  was  his  art.  He  wrote 
I  the  "  Memoirs  "  to  tell  us  about  his  career  as  an  artist,  no/ 
,  [.to  describe  popes  and  kings;  and  he  is  continually  dismissj/fig 
\  historical  characters  and  scenes  that  he  may  return  to  the/nar- 
'  rative  of  his  own  life.  >  Of  course,  he  believed  thor^oughly 
in  himself.  He  had  "  done  something  creditable,"  ^he  tells 
us  on  the  first  page,  and  before  we  have  finished  tihe  book  he 
has  repeated  for  us  all  the  fine  things  said  aVjout  him  and 
to  him  by  kings,  popes,  and  dukes,  includinpc'Tiis  own  modest 
rejoinder  to  Duke  Cosimo's  steward,  "  Theie  is  but  one  such 
as  I  in  the  world,  whereas  there  are  dozens  i^uch  as  you  to  be 
found  in  every  corner."  Without  doubt  he  wa.R  the  first  gold- 
smith of  his  age.  His  professional  standing  sa\ved  his  neck 
more  than  once.  The  Pope  pardoned  him  twictV  for  killing, 
because  "  men  like   Benvenuto,   unique  in  their  \profession, 


BENVENUTO   CELLINI  ix 

stand  above  the  laws  ";  and  Francis  I  got  him  out  of  St.  An- 
gelo  because  he  needed  his  services  in  Paris.  He  was  a  skilful 
workman,  a  man  of  education,  imagination,  and  native  fancy,l 
an  artist  livings  in  the  sixteenth  century  and  inheriting  some 
of  the  bizarre  features  of  the  Renaissance.  \  Most  of  his  gold- 
smith's work  has  perished,  owing  to  the  preciousness  of  the 
materials,  but  such  things  as  remain  show  that  he  pushed  * 
ornamentation  and  detail  to  an  extreme,  Midway  in  his 
career  he  turned  sculptor,  and  produced  a  number  of  large 
figures  in  silver  and  bronze  for  Francis  I;  but,  excepting  the 
"  Nymph  of  Fontainebleau,"  they,  too,  have  perished.  His 
most  important  bronze  was  the  "  Perseus,"  now  in  Florence, 
though  he  also  executed  several  busts,  a  great  crucifix,  and 
a  number  of  medals.  His  bronze  work  has  been  greatly  ad- 
mired, and  the  "Nymph  of  Fontainebleau"  exercised  a  marked 
influence  upon  such  sculptors  of  the  French  school  as  Jean 
Goujon;  and  yet  Benvenuto  never  became  a  true  monu- 
mental sculptor.  Vasari  said  it  was  astonishing  that,  "  having 
been  accustomed  to  make  little  figures  so  many  years,  he 
should  succeed  so  happily  in  bringing  so  large  a  statue  [the 
Perseus]  to  perfection."  But  was  he  happy  in  the  "  Per- 
seus"? It  is  a  remarkable  bronze,  certainly,  but  the  mind  of 
the  goldsmith  and  the  hand  of  the  jew-eller  are  revealed  in  it 
everywhere.  It  is  not  broad  enough  in  its  masses,  not  simple 
enough  in  its  modelling.  The  scale  is  that  of  a  statuette, 
though  the  figure  is  more  than  life-sized.  Reproduced  in 
miniature,  it  takes  its  proper  place  as  a  mantel  ornament. 
The  bronze  busts  are  better  as  simpler,  and  possibly  best  of 
all  his  work  is  the  salt-cellar  at  Vienna,  wherein  the  skill  of  the 
goldsmith  and  the  taste  of  the  artist  appear  to  advantage.  He 
was  really  a  great  goldsmith,  although  his  name  and  fame 
are  attached  to  the  "  Perseus,"  possibly  because  of  its  size 
and  the  conspicuous  place  it  occupies  in  the  city  of  Florence. 
But  fine  artist  as  Benvenuto  was,  it  may  be  doubted  if  we 
should  have  heard  much  about  him  in  these  days  were  it  not 
for  the  book  he  left  behind  him.  It  has  kept  his  name  alive 
longer  than  his  art.  because  it  is  a  vivid  and,  in  the  main,  a 
truthful  picture  of  the  times  in  which  he  lived.  They  were 
troublous  times,  as  has  been  already  suggested,  and  Benve- 
nuto at  fifty-eight,  looking  back  over  his  life,  had  reason  to 
believe  that  he  had  cut  quite  a  figure  in  his  age  and  genera,- 


X  BENVENUTO   CELLINI 

tion.  His  adventures  ana  escapes  were  public  talk,  he  had 
'travelled  extensively,  had  met  the  contemporary  celebrities, 
and  had  known  the  society  of  courts,  camps,  and  capitals. 
In  addition  to  this,  as  a  goldsmith  and  a  sculptor  he  had 
made  his  mark,  and  royalty  had  deigned  to  visit  him  in  his 
workshop.  So  he  began  his  "  Memoirs,"  believing  that  men 
who  have  done  something  in  the  world  ought  "  to  write  their 
lives  with  their  own  hands."  He  soon  abandoned  writing  for 
a  less  laborious  method,  and  while  he  worked  at  his  craft  he 
^  dictated  the  greater  part  of  the  book  to  a  boy.    The  narrative 

*  closes  abruptly  in  1562.    Possibly  Benvenuto  had  told  all  that 

he  thought  worth  telling,  or  was  weary  with  the  task,  or  had 
I      i  other  things  to  take  his  attention.     He  had  been  admitted  to 
\      I   the  rank  of  the  Florentine  nobility,  had  received  ecclesiastical 
I  I  '    orders,  and  in  1560  he  was  married  to  the  woman  who  had 
(jij   ■    .   nursed  him  through  his  last  poisoning.     In  1564  he  was  de- 
ill^     1  i  puted  to  attend  the  funeral  of  Michelangelo,  and  seven  years 
I     later  he  himself  was  buried  with  great  pomp  in  the  Church 
,    of  the  Annunziata.    A  funeral  oration  was  delivered  over  him 
"  in  praise  both  of  his  life  and  works,  and  also  of  his  excellent 
disposition  of  mind  and  body." 
;  When  the  "  Memoirs  "  were  copied,  Benvenuto  submitted 

them  to  Varchi,  the  scholar  and  historian.  He  had  an  idea 
that  they  were  not  elegant  enough  as  literature,  and  needed 
/  polishing  at  the  hands  of  a  trained  writer;  but  Varchi  per- 
suaded him  that  the  simple  colloquial  style  was  worth  more 
than  academic  periods.  So  the  narrative  was  published  as 
originally  dictated.  It  was  fortunate  that  no  pedantic  member 
of  the  Literati  got  at  it.  One  of  the  most  readable  books  in 
all  literature  would  have  been  smothered  in  rhetoric,  and  the 
individuality  of  the  unique  Benvenuto  would  have  been 
Xjf  snufTed  out.  As  it  now  stands,  the  book  reads  precisely  as 
the  man  talked,  and  is  graphic  to  the  last  degree.  It  is  a  book 
of  movement,  incident,  life.  Benvenuto  wasjip  great  thinker 
or  philosopher ;  he  was  an  artist  and  an  observer.  Hence  it 
is  that  there  is  little  of  Introspection  or  of  pondering  or  medi- 
tation in  these  "  Memoirs."  Conscience  and  the  moral  prob- 
lem do  not  obtrude  themselves.  Rousseau  could  confess  and 
cry  "  Mea  culpa,"  but  Benvenuto  confesses  nothing.  On 
the  contrary,  he  always  insists  that  he  is  right.  He  tells  the 
J    straightforward  narrative  of  his  life,  and  is  not  the  least  bit 


BENVENUTO  CELLINI  xi 

ashamed  of  it.  Judging  him  by  the  lives  led  by  his  contem- 
poraries, there  was  no  reason  why  he  should  be.  He  was  not 
better  nor  worse  than  the  motley  throng  of  popes,  dukes, 
cardinals,  artists,  courtiers,  cut-throats,  and  courtesans  with 
whom  he  was  associated.  The  contrast  of  splendid  marble 
churches  standing  in  filthy  streets  where  the  plague  was  bred 
and  assassins  lay  in  wait  is  not  more  striking  than  the  con-  \\ 
tradictions  in  character  during  this  Renaissance  time.j  Ben- 
venuto's  tale  reads  like  fiction  as  he  tells  of  his  turbulent  life 
and  describes  the  stage  upon  which  he  has  played  his  part.  I  It 
does  not  seem  possible  that  such  things  could  be,  and  yet  all 
the  while  he  is  reciting  facts — the  facts  of  social,  political,  and 
artistic  life  in  the  sixteenth  century.  In  that  respect  the  book 
is  one  for  all  time.  |  Edition  after  edition  of  it  has  been  issued, 
and  it  has  been  translated  into  many  tongues.  Everybody 
praises  it  or  blames  it,  but  no  one  ignores  it.  It  is  not  a  book 
to  be  pushed  aside;  it  is  a  book  to  be  read. 

John  C.  Van  Dyke. 


i 


i 


LIST    OF    ILLUSTRATIONS 


rACINS 
PAGB 

Benvenuto  Cellini Frontispiece 

From  a  painting  by  Giorgio  Vasari. 

Dragon  and  Turtle  Salt-cellar 98 

From  a  lithograph. 

Francis  I.  Visiting  the  Studio  of  Cellini 270 

From  a  painting  by  Pierre  Charles  Compte. 

Salt-cellar  Made  for  Francis  I 302 

From  a  lithograph. 

Ewer  Designed  and  Made  by  Cellini 402 

From  a  Uthograph. 


k 


I 


MEMOIRS 


♦  »   « 


BOOK   FIRST 


ALL  MEN  of  whatsoever  quality  they  be,  who  ha\ 
anything  of  excellence,  or  which  may  properly  re 
^    excellence,  ought,  if  they  are  persons  of  truth  an. 
esty,  to  describe  their  life  with  their  own  hand;  but  they 
not  to  attempt  so  fine  an  enterprise  till  they  have  passe 
age  of  forty.     This  duty  occurs  to  my  own  mind,  now  t. 
am  travelling  beyond  the  term  of  fifty-eight  years,  and  a 
Florence,  the  city  of  my  birth.     Many  untoward  things  c 
remember,  such  as  happens  to  all  who  live  upon  our  ti 
and  from  those  adversities  I  am  now  more  free  than  at 
previous  period  of  my  career— nay,  it  seems  to  me  that  I  ei 
greater  content  of  soul  and  health  of  body  than  ever  I  die 
bygone  years.    I  can  also  bring  to  mind  some  pleasant  go 
and  some  inestimable  evils,  which,  when  I  turn  my  thougi 
backward,  strike  terror  in  me,  and  astonishment  that  I  shoi 
have  reached  this  age  of  fifty-eight,   wherein,   thanks  be   , 
God,  I  am  still  travelling  prosperously  forward. 

11 

It  is  true  that  men  w^ho  have  laboured  w^ith  some  show  of 
excellence,  have  already  given  knowledge  of  themselves  to 
the  world;  and  this  alone  ought  to  suffice  them;  I  mean  the 
fact  that  they  have  proved  their  manhood  and  achieved  re- 
nown. Yet  one  must  needs  live  like  others;  and  so  in  a  work 
like  this  there  will  always  be  found  occasion  for  natural  brag- 
ging, w'hich  is  of  divers  kinds,  and  the  first  is  that  a  man  should 


I 


I 


CELLINI 

\v  he  draws  his  lineage  from  persons  of  worth 
lent  origin. 

;d  Benvenuto  CelHni,  son  of  Maestro  Giovanni, 
a,  son  of  Cristofano  Cellini;  my  mother  was  Ma- 
jetta,  daughter  to  Stefano  Granacci;  both  parents 
£^lorence.     It  is  found  written  in  chronicles  made 
estors  of  Florence,  men  of  old  time  and  of  credi- 
i  as  Giovanni  Villani  writes,  that  the  city  of  Plor- 
.'vidently  built  in  imitation  of  the  fair  city  of  Rome; 
n  remnants  of  the  Colosseum  and  the  Baths  can  yet 
..     These  things  are  near  Santa  Croce.     The  Capitol 
re  is  now  the  Old  Market.     The  Rotonda  is  entire, 
as  made  for  the  temple  of  Mars,  and  is  now  dedicated 
Saint  John.     That  thus  it  was,  can  very  well  be  seen, 
mot  be  denied;  but  the  said  buildings  are  much  smaller 
lose  of  Rome.     He  who  caused  them  to  be  built,  they 
as  Julius  Caesar,  in  concert  with  some  noble  Romans, 
vvhen  Fiesole  had  been  stormed  and  taken,  raised  a  citv 
s  place,  and  each  of  them  took  in  hand  to  erect  one  of 
notable  edifices, 
ulius  Caesar  had  among  his  captains  a  man  of  highest  rank 
valour,  who  was  called  Fiorino  of  Cellino,  which  is  a  vil- 
about  two  miles  distant  from  Monte  Fiascone.    Now  this 
■ino  took  up  his  quarters  under  the  hill  of  Fiesole,  on  the 
und  where  Florence  now  stands,  in  order  to  be  near  the 
•r  Arno,  and  for  the  convenience  of  the  troops.     All  those 
Jiers  and  others  who  had  to  do  with  the  said  captain,  used 
•n  to  say:  "Let  us  go  to  Fiorenze;"  as  well  because  the 
id  captain  was  called  Fiorino,  as  also  because  the  place  he 
id  chosen  for  his  quarters  was  by  nature  very  rich  in  flowers. 
Ipon  the  fotmdation  of  the  city,  therefore,  since  this  name 
.truck  Julius  Caesar  as  being  fair  and  apt,  and  given  by  cir- 
cumstance, and   seeing  furthermore  that   flowers  themselves 
bring  good  augury,  he  appointed  the  name  of  Florence  for 
the  town.     He  wished  besides  to  i)ay  his  valiant  captain  this 
compliment;  and  he  loved  him  all  the  more  for  having  drawn 
him  from  a  very  humble  place,  and  for  the  reason  that  so 
excellent  a  man  was  a  creature  of  his  own.     The  name  that 
learned  inventors  and  investigators  of  such  etymologies  ad- 
duce, as  that  Florence  is  flowing  at  the  Arno,  cannot  hold; 
seeing  that  Rome  is  flowing  at  the  Tiber,  Ferrara  is  flowing 


MEMOIRS  3 

at  the  To,  Lyons  is  flowing  at  the  Saone,  Paris  is  flowing  at 
the  Seine,  and  yet  the  names  of  all  these  towns  are  dilTercnt, 
and  have  come  to  them  by  other  ways. 

Thus  then  we  find;  and  thus  we  believe  that  we  are  de- 
scended from  a  man  of  worth,  h'urthcrmore,  we  find  that 
there  are  Cellinis  of  our  stock  in  Ravenna,  that  most  ancient 
town  of  Italy,  where  too  are  plenty  of  gentle  folk.  In  Pisa 
also  there  are  some,  and  I  have  discovered  them  in  many  parts 
of  Christendom;  and  in  this  state  also  tlic  breed  exists,  men 
devoted  to  the  profession  of  arms;  for  not  many  years  ago  a 
young  man,  called  Luca  Cellini,  a  beardless  youth,  fought 
with  a  soldier  of  experience  and  a  most  valorous  man,  named 
Francesco  da  V'icorati,  who  had  frecjuently  fought  before  in 
single  combat.  This  Luca,  by  his  own  valour,  with  sword  in 
hand,  overcame  and  slew  him,  with  such  bravery  and  stout- 
ness that  he  moved  the  folk  to  wonder,  who  were  expecting 
quite  the  contrary  issue;  so  that  I  glory  in  tracing  my  descent 
from  men  of  valour. 

As  for  the  trifling  honours  which  I  have  gained  for  my 
house,  under  the  well-known  conditions  of  our  present  ways 
of  living,  and  by  means  of  my  art,  albeit  the  same  are  matters 
of  no  great  moment.  I  will  relate  these  in  their  ])roper  time 
and  place,  taking  much  more  pride  in  having  been  born  hum- 
ble and  having  laid  some  honourable  foundation  for  my  family, 
than  if  I  had  been  born  of  great  lineage  and  had  stained  or 
overclouded  that  by  my  base  cjualities.  So  then  I  will  make 
a  beginning  by  saying  how  it  pleased  God  I  should  be  born. 

Ill 

My  ancestors  dwTlt  in  \'al  d'  Ambra,  where  they  owned 
large  estates,  and  lived  like  little  lords,  in  retirement,  however, 
on  account  of  the  then  contending  factions.  They  were  all 
men  devoted  to  arms  and  of  notable  bravery.  In  that  time 
one  of  their  sons,  the  younger,  who  was  called  Cristofano, 
roused  a  great  feud  with  certain  of  their  friends  and  neigh- 
bours. Now  the  heads  of  the  families  on  both  sides  took  part 
in  it,  and  the  fire  kindled  seemed  to  them  so  threatening  that 
their  houses  w^ere  like  to  perish  utterly;  the  elders  upon  this 
consideration,  in  concert  with  my  own  ancestors,  removed 
Cristofano;  and  the  other  youth  with  whom  the  quarrel  began 
was  also  sent  away.     They  sent  their  young  man  to  Siena. 


4  CELLINI 

Our  folk  sent  Cristofano  to  Florence;  and  there  they  bought 
for  him  a  little  house  in  Via  Chiara,  close  to  the  convent  of 
S.  Orsola,  and  they  also  purchased  for  him  some  very  good 
property  near  the  Ponte  a  Rifredi.  The  said  Cristofano  took' 
wife  in  Florence,  and  had  sons  and  daughters;  and  when  all 
the  daughters  had  been  portioned  ofif,  the  sons,  after  their 
father's  death,  divided  what  remained.  The  house  in  Via 
Chiara  with  some  other  trifles  fell  to  the  share  of  one  of  the 
said  sons,  who  had  the  name  of  Andrea.  He  also  took  wife, 
and  had  four  male  children.  The  first  was  called  Girolamo, 
the  second  Bartolommeo,  the  third  Giovanni,  who  was  after- 
ward my  father,  and  the  fourth  Francesco.  This  Andrea 
Cellini  was  very  well  versed  in  architecture,  as  it  was  then 
practised,  and  lived  by  it  as  his  trade.  Giovanni,  who  was 
my  father,  paid  more  attention  to  it  than  any  of  the  other 
brothers.  And  since  Vitruvius  says,  amongst  other  things, 
that  one  who  wishes  to  practise  that  art  well  must  have  some- 
thing of  music  and  good  drawing,  Giovanni,  when  he  had 
mastered  drawing,  began  to  turn  his  mind  to  music,  and 
together  with  the  theory  learned  to  play  most  excellently  on 
the  viol  and  the  flute;  and  being  a  person  of  studious  habits, 
he  left  his  home  but  seldom. 

They  had  for  neighbour  in  the  next  house  a  man  called 
Stefano  Granacci,  who  had  several  daughters,  all  of  them  of 
remarkable  beauty.  As  it  pleased  God,  Giovanni  noticed  one 
of  these  girls  who  was  named  Elisabetta;  and  she  found  such 
favour  with  him  that  he  asked  her  in  marriage.  The  fathers 
of  both  of  them  being  well  acquainted  through  their  close 
neighl)ourhood,  it  was  easy  to  make  this  match  up;  and  each 
thought  that  he  had  very  well  arranged  his  afifairs.  First  of 
all  the  two  good  old  men  agreed  upon  the  marriage;  then 
they  began  to  discuss  the  dowry,  which  led  to  a  certain  amount 
of  friendly  difference;  for  Andrea  said  to  Stefano:  "  My  son 
Giovanni  is  the  stoutest  youth  of  Florence,  and  of  all  Italy  to 
boot,  and  if  I  had  w^anted  earlier  to  have  him  married,  I  could 
have  procured  one  of  the  largest  dowries  which  folk  of  our 
rank  get  in  Florence ;  "  whereupon  Stefano  answered :  "  You 
have  a  thousand  reasons  on  your  side;  but  here  am  I  with  five 
daughters  and  as  many  sons,  and  when  my  reckoning  is  made, 
this  is  as  much  as  I  can  possibly  afiford."  Giovanni,  who  had 
been  listening  awhile  unseen  by  them,  suddenly  broke  in  and 


MEMOIRS 


5 


said:  "  O  my  father,  I  have  sought  and  loved  tliat  girl  and  not 
their  money.  Ill  luck  to  those  who  seek  to  till  their  pockets 
by  the  dowry  of  their  wife!  As  you  have  boasted  that  I  am  a 
.  fellow  of  such  parts,  do  you  not  think  that  I  shall  be  able  to 
provide  for  my  wife  and  satisfy  her  needs,  even  if  I  receive 
something  short  of  the  portion  you  would  like  to  get?  Now 
I  must  make  you  understand  that  the  woman  is  mine,  and  you 
may  take  the  dowry  for  yourself."  At  this  Andrea  Cellini, 
who  was  a  man  of  rather  awkward  temper,  grew  a  trifle  angry ; 
but  after  a  few  days  Giovanni  took  his  wife,  and  never  asked 
for  other  portion  with  her. 

They  enjoyed  their  youth  and  wedded  love  through  eight- 
een years,  always  greatly  desiring  to  be  blessed  with  children. 
At  the  end  of  this  time  Giovanni's  wife  miscarried  of  two  boys 
through  the  unskilfulness  of  the  doctors.  Later  she  was  again 
with  child,  and  gave  birth  to  a  girl,  whom  they  called  Cosa, 
after  the  mother  of  my  father.  At  the  end  of  two  years  she 
was  once  more  with  child;  and  inasmuch  as  those  longings 
to  which  pregnant  women  are  subject,  and  to  which  they  pay 
much  attention,  were  now  exactly  the  same  as  those  of  her 
former  pregnancy,  they  made  their  minds  up  that  she  would 
give  birth  to  a  female  as  before,  and  agreed  to  call  the  child 
Reparata,  after  the  mother  of  my  mother.  It  happened  that 
she  was  delivered  on  a  night  of  All  Saints,  following  the  feast- 
day,  at  half-past  four  precisely,  in  the  year  1500.^  The  mid- 
wife, who  knew  that  they  were  expecting  a  girl,  after  she  had 
washed  the  baby  and  wrapped  it  in  the  fairest  white  linen, 
came  softly  to  my  father  Giovanni  and  said:  "  I  am  bringing 
you  a  fine  present,  such  as  you  did  not  anticipate."  My  father, 
who  was  a  true  philosopher,  was  walking  up  and  down,  and 
answered :  "  What  God  gives  me  is  always  dear  to  me ;  "  and 
when  he  opened  the  swaddling  clothes,  he  saw  with  his  own 
eyes  the  vmexpected  male  child.  Joining  together  the  palms 
of  his  old  hands,  he  raised  them  w-ith  his  eyes  to  God.  and 
said:  "  Lord,  I  thank  Thee  with  my  whole  heart;  this  gift  is 
very  dear  to  me;  let  him  be  Welcome."  All  the  persons  who 
were  there  asked  him  joyfully  what  name  the  child  should 
bear.  Giovanni  would  make  no  other  answer  than  "  Let  him 
be  Welcome — Benvenuto;"  and  so  they  resolved,  and  this 

'  The  hour  is  reckoned,  according  to  the  old  Italian  fashion,  from  sun- 
set of  one  day  to  sunset  of  the  next — twenty-four  hours. 


6  CELLINI 

name  was  given  me  at  Holy   iiaplisni,  and  by  it  I  still  am 
living  with  the  grace  of  God. 

IV 

Andrea  Cellini  was  yet  alive  when  I  was  about  three  years 
old,  and  he  had  passed  his  hundredth.  One  day  they  had 
been  altering  a  certain  conduit  pertaining  to  a  cistern,  and 
there  issued  from  it  a  great  scorpion  unperceived  by  them, 
which  crept  down  from  the  cistern  to  the  ground,  and  slank 
away  beneath  a  bench.  I  saw  it,  and  ran  up  to  it,  and  laid  my 
hands  upon  it.  It  was  so  big  that  when  I  had  it  in  my  little 
hands,  it  put  out  its  tail  on  one  side,  and  on  the  other  thrust 
forth  both  its  mouths.  They  relate  that  I  ran  in  high  joy  to 
my  grandfather,  crying  out:  "  Look,  grandpapa,  at  my  pretty 
little  crab."  When  he  recognised  that  the  creature  was  a 
scorpion,  he  was  on  the  point  of  falling  dead  for  the  great  fear 
he  had  and  anxiety  about  me.  He  coaxed  and  entreated  me 
to  give  it  him;  but  the  more  he  begged,  the  tighter  I  clasped 
it,  crying  and  saying  I  would  not  give  it  to  any  one.  My 
father,  who  was  also  in  the  house,  ran  up  when  he  heard 
my  screams,  and  in  his  stupefaction  could  not  think  how  to 
prevent  the  venomous  animal  from  killing  me.  Just  then  his 
eyes  chanced  to  fall  upon  a  pair  of  scissors;  and  so,  while 
soothing  and  caressing  me,  he  cut  its  tail  and  mouths  ofif. 
Afterward,  when  the  great  peril  had  been  thus  averted,  he 
took  the  occurrence  for  a  s[oo(\  aucfurv. 

When  I  was  a1:)out  five  years  old  my  father  happened  to  be 
in  a  basement-chamber  of  our  house,  where  they  had  been 
washing,  and  where  a  good  fire  of  oak-logs  was  still  burning; 
he  had  a  viol  in  his  hand,  and  was  playing  and  singing  alone 
beside  the  fire.  Tlie  weather  was  very  cold.  Happening  to 
look  into  the  fire,  he  spied  in  the  middle  of  those  most  l)urning 
flames  a  little  creature  like  a  lizard,  which  w^as  sporting  in  the 
core  of  the  intensest  coals,  becoming  instantly  aware  of  what 
the  thing  was,  lie  liad  my  sister  and  me  called,  and  pointing  it 
out  to  us  children,  gave  me  a  great  box  on  the  ears,  which 
caused  me  to  howl  and  weep  with  all  my  might.  Then  he 
pacified  me  good-humouredly,  and  spoke  as  follows:  "  My 
dear  little  boy,  I  am  not  striking  you  for  any  wrong  that  you 
have  done,  but  only  to  make  you  remember  that  that  lizard 
which  you  see  in  the  fire  is  a  salamander,  a  creature  which 


MEMOIRS  7 

has  never  been  seen  before  by  any  one  of  whom  \vc  have  credi- 
ble information."  So  saying,  he  kissed  me  and  gave  me  some 
pieces  of  money. 

V 

My  father  began  teaching  me  to  play  upon  the  flute  and 
sing  by  note;  but  notwithstanding  I  was  of  that  tender  age 
when  httle  children  are  w^ont  to  take  pastime  in  whistles  and 
such  toys,  I  had  an  inexpressible  dislike  for  it,  and  played  and 
sang  only  to  obey  him.  My  father  in  those  times  fashioned 
wonderful  organs  with  pipes  of  wood,  spinets  the  fairest  and 
most  excellent  which  then  could  be  seen,  viols  and  lutes  and 
harps  of  the  most  beautiful  and  perfect  construction.  He 
was  an  engineer,  and  had  marvellous  skill  in  making  instru- 
ments for  lowering  bridges  and  for  working  mills,  and  other 
machines  of  that  sort.  In  ivory  he  was  the  first  who  wrought 
really  well.  But  after  he  had  fallen  in  love  with  the  w'oman 
who  was  destined  to  become  my  mother — perhaps  what 
brought  them  together  was  that  little  flute,  to  which  indeed 
he  paid  more  attention  than  was  proper — he  was  entreated 
by  the  fifers  of  the  Signory  to  play  in  their  company.  Ac- 
cordingly he  did  so  for  some  time  to  amuse  himself,  until  by 
constant  importunity  they  induced  him  to  become  a  member 
of  their  band.  Lorenzo  de'  Medici  and  Piero  his  son,  who  had 
a  great  liking  for  him,  perceived  later  that  he  was  devoting 
himself  wholly  to  the  fife,  and  was  neglecting  his  fine  engineer- 
ing talent  and  his  beautiful  art.^  So  they  had  him  removed 
from  that  post.  My  father  took  this  very  ill,  and  it  seemed 
to  him  that  they  had  done  him  a  great  despite.  Yet  he  im- 
mediately resumed  his  art,  and  fashioned  a  mirror,  about  a 
cubit  in  diameter,  out  of  bone  and  ivory,  with  figures  and 
foliage  of  great  finish  and  grand  design.  The  mirror  was  in 
the  form  of  a  wheel.  In  the  middle  was  the  looking-glass; 
around  it  were  seven  circular  pieces,  on  which  were  the  Seven 
Virtues,  carved  and  joined  of  ivory  and  black  bone.  The 
whole  mirror,  together  with  the  Virtues,  was  placed  in  equi- 
librium, so  that  when  the  wheel  turned,  all  the  Virtues  moved, 
and  they  had  weights  at  their  feet  which  kept  them  upright. 
Possessing  some  acquaintance  with  the  Latin  tongue,  he  put 
a  legend   in   Latin   round   his  looking-glass,  to  this  eiTect — 

'  The  Medici  here  mentioned  were  Lorenzo  the  Magnificent,  and  his 
son  Pictro,  who  was  expelled  from  Florence  in  the  year  1494. 


8  CELLINI 

"  Whithersoever  the  wheel  of  Fortune  turns,  Virtue  stands 
firm  upon  her  feet: 

Rota  sum  :  semper,  quoquo  me  verto,  stat  Virtus." 

A  Httle  while  after  this  he  obtained  his  place  again  among  the 
fifers.  Although  some  of  these  things  happened  before  I  was 
born,  my  familiarity  with  them  has  moved  me  to  set  them 
down  here.  In  those  days  the  musicians  of  the  Signory  were 
all  of  them  members  of  the  most  honourable  trades,  and  some 
of  them  belonged  to  the  greater  guilds  of  silk  and  wool;  ^  and 
that  was  the  reason  why  my  father  did  not  disdain  to  follow 
this  profession,  and  his  chief  desire  with  regard  to  me  was 
always  that  I  should  become  a  great  performer  on  the  flute. 
I  for  my  part  felt  never  more  discontented  than  when  he  chose 
to  talk  to  me  about  this  scheme,  and  to  tell  mc  that,  if  I  liked, 
he  discerned  in  me  such  aptitudes  that  I  might  become  the 
best  man  in  the  world. 

VI 

As  I  have  said,  my  father  was  the  devoted  servant  and  at- 
tached friend  of  the  house  of  Medici;  and  when  Piero  was 
banished,  he  entrusted  him  with  many  affairs  of  the  greatest 
possible  importance.  Afterward,  when  the  magnificent  Piero 
Soderini  was  elected,  and  my  father  continued  in  his  office 
of  musician,  Soderini,  perceiving  his  wonderful  talent,  began 
to  employ  him  in  many  matters  of  great  importance  as  an 
engineer.*  So  long  as  Soderini  remained  in  Florence,  he 
showed  the  utmost  good-will  to  my  father;  and  in  those  days, 
I  being  still  of  tender  age,  my  father  had  me  carried,  and  made 
me  perform  upon  the  flute;  I  used  to  play  treble  in  concert 
with  the  musicians  of  the  palace  before  the  Signory,  following 
my  notes:  and  a  beadle  used  to  carry  me  upon  his  shoulders. 
The  Gonfalonier,  that  is,  Soderini,  whom  I  have  already  men- 
tioned, took  much  pleasure  in  making  me  chatter,  and  gave 
me  comfits,  and  was  wont  to  say  to  my  father:  "  Maestro 
Giovanni,  beside  music,  teach  the  boy  those  other  arts  which 
do  you  so  much  honour."     To  which  my  father  answered: 

'  In  the  Middle  Ages  the  burghers  of  Florence  were  divided  into  in- 
dustrial guilds  called  the  Greater  and  the  Lesser  Arts.  The  former  took 
precedence  of  the  latter,  both  in  political  importance  and  in  social  esteem. 

*  Piero  Soderini  was  elected  Gonfalonier  of  the  Florentine  Republic  for 
life  in  the  year  1502.     After  nine  years  of  government,  he  was  banished. 


MEMOIRS  g 

"  I  do  not  wish  him  to  practise  any  art  hut  playing  and  com- 
posing; for  in  this  profession  I  hope  to  make  Ihm  the  greatest 
man  of  the  world,  if  God  prolongs  his  life."  To  these  words 
one  of  the  old  counsellors  made  answer:  "  Ah!  Maestro  Gio- 
vanni, do  what  the  Gonfalonier  tells  you!  for  why  should  he 
never  become  anything  more  than  a  good  musician?" 

Thus  some  time  passed,  until  the  Medici  returned.^  When 
they  arrived,  the  Cardinal,  who  afterward  became  Pope  Leo, 
received  my  father  very  kindly.  During  their  exile  the  scutch- 
eons which  were  on  the  palace  of  the  Medici  had  had  their 
balls  erased,  and  a  great  red  cross  painted  over  them,  which 
was  the  bearing  of  the  Commune.  Accordingly,  as  soon  as 
they  returned,  the  red  cross  was  scratched  out,  and  on  the 
scutcheon  the  red  balls  and  the  golden  field  were  painted  in 
again,  and  finished  with  great  beauty.  My  father,  who  pos- 
sessed a  simple  vein  of  poetry,  instilled  in  him  by  nature, 
together  with  a  certain  touch  of  prophecy,  wdiich  was  doubt- 
less a  divine  gift  in  him,  wrote  these  four  verses  under  the  said 
arms  of  the  Medici,  when  they  were  uncovered  to  the  view: — 

"These  arms,  which  have  so  long  from  sight  been  laid 
Beneath  the  holy  cross,  that  symbol  meek. 
Now  lift  their  glorious  glad  face,  and  seek 
With  Peter's  sacred  cloak  to  be  arrayed." 

This  epigram  w^as  read  by  all  Florence.  A  few  days  after- 
ward Pope  Julius  II  died.  The  Cardinal  de'  Medici  went  to 
Rome,  and  w^as  elected  Pope  against  the  expectation  of  every- 
body. He  reigned  as  Leo  X,  that  generous  and  great  soul. 
My  father  sent  him  his  four  prophetic  verses.  The  Pope  sent 
to  tell  him  to  come  to  Rome;  for  this  would  be  to  his  advan- 
tage. But  he  had  no  will  to  go;  and  so,  in  lieu  of  reward,  his 
place  in  the  palace  was  taken  from  him  by  Jacopo  Salviati, 
upon  that  man's  election  as  Gonfalonier.^  This  was  the  reason 
why  I  commenced  goldsmith;  after  which  I  spent  part  of  my 
time  in  learning  that  art,  and  part  in  playing,  much  against 
my  will. 

'  This  was  in  1512,  when  Lorenzo's  two  sons,  Giuliano  and  Giovanni 
(afterward  Pope  Leo  X),  came  back  through  the  aid  of  a  Spanish  army 
after  the  great  battle  at  Ravenna. 

*  Cellini  makes  a  mistake  here.  Salviati  married  a  daughter  of  Lorenzo 
de'  Medici,  and  obtained  great  influence  in  Florence  ;  but  we  have  no  rec- 
prd  of  his  appointment  to  the  office  of  Gonfalonier. 


lO  CELLINI 

VII 

When  my  father  spoke  to  me  in  the  way  I  have  above  de- 
scribed, I  entreated  him  to  let  me  draw  a  certain  fixed  number 
of  hours  in  the  day;  all  the  rest  of  my  time  I  would  give  to 
music,  only  with  the  view  of  satisfying  his  desire.  Upon  this 
he  said  to  me:  "So  then,  you  take  no  pleasure  in  playing?" 
To  which  I  answered,  "No;"  because  that  art  seemed  too 
base  in  comparison  with  what  I  had  in  my  own  mind.  My 
good  father,  driven  to  despair  by  this  fixed  idea  of  mine,  placed 
me  in  the  workshop  of  Cavaliere  Bandinello's  father,  who  was 
called  Michel  Agnolo,  a  goldsmith  from  Pinzi  di  Monte,  and 
a  master  excellent  in  that  craft.'  He  had  no  distinction  of 
birth  whatever,  but  was  the  son  of  a  charcoal-seller.  This  is 
no  blame  to  Bandinello,  who  has  founded  the  honour  of  the 
family — if  only  he  had  done  so  honestly!  However  that  may 
be,  I  have  no  cause  now  to  talk  about  him.  After  I  had  stayed 
there  some  days,  my  father  took  me  away  from  Michel  Ag- 
nolo, finding  himself  unable  to  live  without  having  mc  always 
under  his  eyes.  Accordingly,  much  to  my  discontent,  I  re- 
mained at  music  till  I  reached  the  age  of  fifteen.  If  I  were 
to  describe  all  the  wonderful  things  that  happened  to  me  up 
to  that  time,  and  all  the  great  dangers  to  my  own  life  which 
I  ran,  I  should  astound  my  readers;  but,  in  order  to  avoid 
prolixity,  and  having  very  much  to  relate,  I  will  omit  these 
incidents. 

When  I  reached  the  age  of  fifteen,  I  put  myself,  against  my 
father's  will,  to  the  goldsmith's  trade  with  a  man  called  An- 
tonio, son  of  Sandro,  known  commonly  as  Marcone  the  gold- 
smith. He  was  a  most  excellent  craftsman  and  a  very  good 
fellow  to  boot,  high-spirited  and  frank  in  all  his  ways.  My 
father  would  not  let  him  give  me  wages  like-  the  other  appren- 
tices; for  since  I  had  taken  up  the  study  of  this  art  to  please 
myself,  he  wished  me  to  indulge  my  whim  for  drawing  to  the 
full.  I  did  so  willingly  enough;  and  that  lionest  master  of 
mine  took  marvellous  delight  in  my  performances.  He  had 
an  only  son,  to  whom  he  often  gave  his  orders,  in  order  to 
spare  me.  My  liking  for  the  art  was  so  great,  or,  I  may  truly 
say,  my  natural  bias,  both  one  and  the  other,  that  in  a  few 

'  Baccio  Bandinello,  the  sculptor,  was  born  in  1487,  and  received  the 
honour  of  knighthood  from  Clement  VII  and  Charles  V. 


MEMOIRS  II 

months  I  caug-ht  up  the  good,  nay,  the  best  young  craftsmen 
in  our  business,  and  began  to  reap  the  fruits  of  my  labours.  I 
did  not,  however,  neglect  to  gratify  my  good  fatlier  from  time 
to  time  by  playing  on  the  flute  or  cornet.  Each  time  he  heard 
mc,  1  used  to  make  his  tears  fall,  accompanied  with  deep- 
drawn  sighs  of  satisfaction.  My  filial  piety  often  made  me 
give  him  that  contentment,  and  induced  me  to  pretend  that  I 
enjoyed  the  music  too. 

VIII 

At  that  time  I  had  a  brother,  younger  by  two  years,  a  vouth 
of  extreme  boldness  and  fierce  temper.  He  afterward  be- 
came one  of  the  great  soldiers  in  the  school  of  that  marvellous 
general  Giovannino  de'  Medici,  father  of  Duke  Cosimo.^  The 
boy  was  about  fourteen,  and  I  two  years  older.  One  Sunday 
evening,  just  before  nightfall,  he  happened  to  find  himself 
between  the  gate  San  Gallo  and  the  Porta  a  Pinti;  in  this 
quarter  he  came  to  duel  with  a  young  fellow  of  twenty  or 
thereabouts.  They  both  had  swords;  and  my  brother  dealt 
so  valiantly  that,  after  having  badly  wounded  him,  he  was  upon 
the  point  of  following  up  his  advantage.  There  was  a  great 
crowd  of  people  present,  among  whom  were  many  of  the 
adversary's  kinsfolk.  Seeing  that  the  thing  was  going  ill  for 
their  own  man,  they  put  hand  to  their  slings,  a  stone  from  one 
of  which  hit  my  poor  brother  in  the  head.  He  fell  to  the 
ground  at  once  in  a  dead  faint.  It  so  chanced  that  I  had  been 
upon  the  spot  alone,  and  without  arms;  and  I  had  done  my 
best  to  get  my  brother  out  of  the -fray  by  calling  to  him: 
"  Make  ofif;  you  have  done  enough."  Meanwhile,  as  luck 
would  have  it,  he  fell,  as  I  have  said,  half  dead  to  earth.  I 
ran  up  at  once,  seized  his  sword,  and  stood  in  front  of  him, 
bearing  the  brunt  of  several  rapiers  and  a  shower  of  stones. 
I  never  left  his  side  until  some  brave  soldiers  came  from  the 
gate  San  Gallo  and  rescued  me  from  the  raging  crowd;  they 
marvelled  much,  the  while,  to  find  such  valour  in  so  young 
a  boy. 

Then  T  carried  my  brother  home  for  dead,  and  it  was  only 
with  great  difificulty  that  he  came  to  himself  again.    When  he 

'  The  famous  Giovanni  delle  Bande  Nere,  who  was  killed  in  an  en- 
gagement in  Lombardy  in  November,  1526,  by  the  Imperialist  troops 
marching  to  the  sack  of  Rome.  His  son  Cosimo,  after  the  murder  of 
Duke  Alessandro,  established  the  second  Medicean  dynasty  in  Florence. 


12  CELLINI 

was  cured,  the  Eight,  who  had  already  condemned  our  ad- 
versaries and  banished  them  for  a  term  of  years,  sent  us  also 
into  exile  for  six  months  at  a  distance  of  ten  miles  from  Flor- 
ence. I  said  to  my  brother:  "  Come  along  with  me;"  and 
so  we  took  leave  of  our  poor  father;  and  instead  of  giving 
us  money,  for  he  had  none,  he  bestowed  on  us  his  blessing.  I 
went  to  Siena,  wishing  to  look  up  a  certain  worthy  man  called 
Maestro  Francesco  Castoro.  On  another  occasion,  when  I 
'had  run  away  from  my  father,  I  went  to  this  good  man,  and 
stayed  some  time  with  him,  working  at  the  goldsmith's  trade 
until  my  father  sent  for  me  back.  Francesco,  when  I  reached 
him,  recognised  me  at  once,  and  gave  me  work  to  do.  While 
thus  occupied,  he  placed  a  house  at  my  disposal  for  the  whole 
time  of  my  sojourn  in  Siena.  Into  this  I  moved,  together  with 
my  brother,  and  applied  myself  to  labour  for  the  space  of  sev- 
eral months.  My  brother  had  acquired  the  rudiments  of  Latin, 
but  was  still  so  young  that  he  could  not  yet  relish  the  taste  of 
virtuous  employment,  but  passed  his  time  in  dissipation. 

IX 

The  Cardinal  de'  Medici,  who  afterward  became  Pope 
Clement  VII,  had  us  recalled  to  Florence  at  the  entreaty  of 
my  father.^  A  certain  pupil  of  my  father's,  moved  by  his  own 
bad  nature,  suggested  to  the  Cardinal  that  he  ought  to  send 
me  to  Bologna,  in  order  to  learn  to  play  well  from  a  great 
master  there.  The  name  of  this  master  was  Antonio,  and  he 
was  in  truth  a  worthy  man  in  the  musician's  art.  The  Car- 
dinal said  to  my  father  that,  if  he  sent  me  there,  he  would  give 
me  letters  of  recommendation  and  support.  My  father,  dying 
with  joy  at  such  an  opportunity,  sent  me  off;  and  I  being 
eager  to  see  the  world,  went  with  good  grace. 

When  I  reached  Bologna,  I  put  myself  under  a  certain 
Maestro  Ercole  del  PifTero,  and  began  to  earn  something  by 
my  trade.  In  the  meantime  I  used  to  go  every  day  to  take  my 
music-lesson,  and  in  a  few  weeks  made  considerable  progress 
in  that  accursed  art.     However,  I  made  still  greater  in  my 

'  This  Cardinal  and  Pope  was  Giulio,  a  natural  son  of  Giuliano, 
Lorenzo  de'  Medici's  brother,  who  had  been  killed  in  the  Pazzi  con- 
spiracy, year  1478.  Giulio  lived  to  become  Pope  Clement  VII,  to  suffer 
the  sack  of  Rome  in  1527,  and  to  make  the  concordat  with  Charles  V  at 
Bologna  in  1529-30,  which  settled  for  three  centuries  the  destiny  of  Italy. 


MEMOIRS 


13 


trade  of  goldsmith;  for  the  Cardinal  having  given  me  no 
assistance,  1  went  to  live  with  a  Bolognese  illuminator  who  was 
called  Scipione  Cavalletti  (his  house  was  in  the  street  of  our 
Lady  del  Baraccan);  and  while  there  I  devoted  myself  to 
drawing  and  working  for  one  Graziadio,  a  Jew,  with  whom  I 
earned  considerable. 

At  the  end  of  six  months  I  returned  to  Florence,  where 
that  fellow  Pierino,  who  had  been  my  father's  pupil,  was 
greatly  mortified  by  my  return.  To  please  my  father,  I  went 
to  his  house  and  played  the  cornet  and  the  flute  with  one  of 
his  brothers,  who  was  named  Girolamo,  several  years  younger 
than  the  said  Piero,  a  very  worthy  young  man,  and  quite  the 
contrary  of  his  brother.  On  one  of  those  days  my  father  came 
to  Piero's  house  to  hear  us  play,  and  in  ecstasy  at  my  per- 
formance exclaimed:  "  I  shall  yet  make  you  a  marvellous 
musician  against  the  will  of  all  or  any  one  who  may  desire  to 
prevent  me."  To  this  Piero  answered,  and  spoke  the  truth: 
"  Your  Benvenuto  will  get  much  more  honour  and  profit  if  he 
devotes  himself  to  the  goldsmith's  trade  than  to  this  piping." 
These  words  made  my  father  so  angry,  seeing  that  I  too  had 
the  same  opinion  as  Piero,  that  he  flew  into  a  rage  and  cried 
out  at  him:  "  Well  did  I  know  that  it  was  you,  you  who  put 
obstacles  in  the  way  of  my  cherished  wish;  you  are  the  man 
who  had  me  ousted  from  my  place  at  the  palace,  paying  me 
back  with  that  black  ingratitude  which  is  the  usual  recom- 
pense of  great  benefits.  I  got  you  promoted,  and  you  have 
got  me  cashiered;  I  taught  you  to  play  with  all  the  little  art 
you  have,  and  you  are  preventing  my  son  from  obeying  me; 
but  bear  in  mind  these  words  of  prophecy:  not  years  or 
months,  I  say,  but  only  a  few  weeks  will  pass  before  this  dirty 
ingratitude  of  yours  shall  plunge  you  into  ruin."  To  these 
words  answered  Pierino  and  said:  "Maestro  Giovanni,  the 
majority  of  men,  when  they  grow  old,  go  mad  at  the  same 
time;  and  this  has  happened  to  you.  I  am  not  astonished  at 
it,  because  most  liberally  have  you  squandered  all  your  prop- 
erty, without  reflecting  that  your  childreii  had  need  of  it.  I 
mind  to  do  just  the  opposite,  and  to  leave  my  children  so  much 
that  they  shall  be  able  to  succour  vours."  To  this  my  father 
answered :  "  No  bad  tree  ever  bore  good  fruit ;  quite  the  con- 
trary; and  I  tell  you  further  that  you  are  bad,  and  that  your 
children  will  be  mad  and  paupers,  and  will  cringe  for  alms  to 


14  CELLINI 

my  virtuous  and  wcaltliy  sons."  Thereupon  we  left  the  house, 
niuttcrint^-  words  of  anger  on  both  sides.  I  had  taken  my 
father's  part;  and  when  we  stepped  into  the  street  together, 
I  told  him  1  was  quite  ready  to  take  vengeance  for  the  insults 
heaped  on  him  by  that  scoundrel,  provided  he  would  permit 
me  to  give  myself  up  to  the  art  of  design.  He  answered:  "  My 
dear  son,  I  too  in  my  time  was  a  good  draughtsman;  but  for 
recreation,  after  such  stupendous  labours,  and  for  the  love 
of  me  who  am  your  father,  wjio  begat  you  and  brought  you 
up  and  implanted  so  many  honourable  talents  in  you,  for  the 
sake  of  recreation,  I  say,  will  not  you  promise  sometimes  to 
take  in  hand  your  flute  and  that  seductive  cornet,  and  to  play 
upon  them  to  your  heart's  content,  inviting  the  delight  of 
music?"  I  promised  I  would  do  so,  and  very  willingly  for 
his  love's  sake.  Then  my  good  father  said  that  such  excellent 
parts  as  I  possessed  would  be  the  greatest  vengeance  I  could 
take  for  the  insults  of  his  enemies. 

Not  a  whole  month  had  been  completed  after  this  scene 
before  the  man  Pierino  happened  to  be  building  a  vault  in  a 
house  of  his,  which  he  had  in  the  Via  dello  Studio ;  and  being 
one  day  in  a  ground-floor  room  above  the  vault  which  he  was 
making,  together  with  much  company  around  him,  he  fell  to 
talking  about  his  old  master,  my  father.  While  repeating  the 
words  which  he  had  said  to  him  concerning  his  ruin,  no  sooner 
had  they  escaped  his  lips  than  the  floor  where  he  was  stand- 
ing (either  because  the  vault  had  been  badly  built,  or  rather 
through  the  sheer  mightiness  of  God,  who  does  not  always  pay 
on  Saturday)  suddenly  gave  way.  Some  of  the  stones  and 
bricks  of  the  vault,  which  fell  with  him.  broke  both  his  legs. 
The  friends  who  were  with  him,  remaining  on  the  border  of 
the  broken  vault,  took  no  harm,  but  were  astounded  and  full 
of  wonder,  especially  because  of  the  prophecy  which  he  had 
just  contemptuously  repeated  to  them.  When  my  father  heard 
of  this,  he  took  his  sword,  and  went  to  see  the  man.  There, 
in  the  presence  of  his  father,  who  was  called  Niccolaio  da 
Volterra,  a  trumpeter  of  the  Signory,  he  said:  "  O  Piero,  my 
dear  pupil,  I  am  sorely  grieved  at  your  mischance;  but  if  you 
remember  it  was  only  a  short  time  ago  that  I  warned  you  of 
it;  and  as  much  as  I  then  said  will  come  to  happen  between 
your  children  and  mine."  Shortly  afterward,  the  ungrateful 
Piero  died  of  tjjaf  ijjness.    He  left  a  wife  of  jbad  character  and 


MEMOIRS  15 

one  son,  who  after  the  lapse  of  sonic  years  came  to  me  to  beg 
for  alms  in  Rome.  I  gave  him  something,  as  well  because  it 
is  my  nature  to  be  charitable,  as  also  because  I  recalled  with 
tears  the  happy  state  which  Pierino  held  when  my  father  spake 
those  words  of  prophecy,  namely,  that  Pierino's  children 
should  live  to  crave  succour  from  his  own  virtuous  sons.  Of 
this  perhaps  enough  is  now  said;  but  let  none  ever  laugh  at 
the  prognostications  of  any  worthy  man  whom  he  has  wrong- 
fully insulted;  because  it  is  not  he  who  speaks,  nay,  but  the 
very  voice  of  God  through  him. 

X 

All  this  while  I  worked  as  a  goldsmith,  and  was  able  to 
assist  my  good  father.  His  other  son,  my  brother  Cecchino, 
had,  as  I  said  before,  been  instructed  in  the  rudiments  of  Latin 
letters.  It  was  our  father's  wish  to  make  me,  the  elder,  a  great 
musician  and  composer,  and  him,  the  younger,  a  great  and 
learned  jurist.  He  could  not,  however,  put  force  upon  the 
inclinations  of  our  nature,  which  directed  me  to  the  arts  of 
design,  and  my  brother,  who  had  a  fine  and  graceful  person, 
to  the  profession  of  arms.  Cecchino,  being  still  quite  a  lad, 
was  returning  from  his  first  lesson  in  the  school  of  the  stu- 
pendous Giovannino  de'  Medici.  On  the  day  when  he  reached 
home,  I  happened  to  be  absent;  and  he,  being  in  want  of 
proper  clothes,  sought  out  our  sisters,  who,  unknown  to  my 
father,  gave  him  a  cloak  and  doublet  of  mine,  both  new  and  of 
good  quality.  I  ought  to  say  that,  beside  the  aid  I  gave  my 
father  and  my  excellent  and  honest  sisters,  I  had  bought  those 
handsome  clothes  out  of  my  own  savings.  When  I  found  I 
had  been  cheated,  and  my  clothes  taken  from  me,  and  my 
brother  from  whom  I  should  have  recovered  them  w'as  gone, 
I  asked  my  father  why  he  suffered  so  great  a  wrong  to  be  done 
me,  seeing  that  I  was  always  ready  to  assist  him.  He  replied 
that  I  was  his  good  son.  but  that  the  other,  whom  he  thought 
to  have  lost,  had  been  found  again;  also  that  it  was  a  duty, 
nay,  a  precept  from  God  Himself,  that  he  who  hath  should 
give  to  him  who  hath  not;  and  that  for  his  sake  I  ought  to 
bear  this  injustice,  for  God  would  increase  me  in  all  good 
things.  I.  like  a  youth  without  experience,  retorted  on  my 
poor  afflicted  parent;  and  taking  the  miserable  remnants  of  my 
clothes  and  money,  went  toward  a  gate  of  the  city.    As  I  did 


l6  CELLINI 

not  know  which  gate  would  start  me  on  the  road  to  Rome,  I 
arrived  at  Lucca,  and  from  Lucca  reached  Pisa. 

When  I  came  to  Pisa  (I  was  about  sixteen  years  of  age  at 
the  time),  I  stopped  near  the  middle  bridge,  by  what  is  called 
the  Fish-stone,  at  the  shop  of  a  goldsmith,  and  began  atten- 
tively to  watch  what  the  master  was  about.  He  asked  me  who 
I  was,  and  what  was  my  profession.  I  told  him  that  I  worked 
a  little  in  the  same  trade  as  his  own.  This  worthy  man  bade 
me  come  into  his  shop,  and  at  once  gave  me  work  to  do,  and 
spoke  as  follows:  "  Your  good  appearance  makes  me  believe 
you  are  a  decent  honest  youth."  Then  he  told  me  out  gold, 
silver,  and  gems;  and  when  the  first  day's  work  was  finished, 
he  took  me  in  the  evening  to  his  house,  where  he  dwelt  re- 
spectably with  his  handsome  wife  and  children.  Thinking  of 
the  grief  which  my  good  father  might  be  feeling  for  me,  I 
wrote  him  that  I  was  sojourning  with  a  very  excellent  and 
honest  man,  called  Maestro  Ulivieri  della  Chiostra,  and  was 
working  with  him  at  many  things  of  beauty  and  importance. 
I  bade  him  be  of  good  cheer,  for  that  I  was  bent  on  learning, 
and  hoped  by  my  acquirements  to  bring  him  back  both  profit 
and  honour  before  long.  My  good  father  answered  the  letter 
at  once  in  words  like  these:  "  My  son,  the  love  I  bear  you  is 
so  great,  that  if  it  were  not  for  the  honour  of  our  family,  which 
above  all  things  I  regard,  I  should  immediately  have  set  off 
for  you ;  for  indeed  it  seems  like  being  without  the  light  of  my 
eyes,  when  I  do  not  see  you  daily,  as  I  used  to  do.  I  will 
make  it  my  business  to  complete  the  training  of  my  household 
up  to  virtuous  honesty;  do  you  make  it  yours  to  acquire  ex- 
cellence in  your  art;  and  I  only  wish  you  to  remember  these 
four  simple  words,  obey  them,  and  never  let  them  escape  your 
memory : 

In  whatever  house  you  be, 

Steal  not,  and  live  honestly." 

XI 

This  letter  fell  into  the  hands  of  my  master  Ulivieri,  and 
he  read  it  unknown  to  me.  Afterward  he  avowed  that  he  had 
read  it,  and  added:  "  So  then,  my  Benvenuto,  your  good  looks 
did  not  deceive  me,  as  a  letter  from  your  father  which  has 
come  into  my  hands  gives  me  assurance,  which  proves  him 
to  be  a  man  of  notable  honesty  and  worth.    Consider  yourself 


MEMOIRS  17 

then  to  be  at  home  here,  and  as  though  in  your  own  father's 
house." 

While  I  stayed  at  Pisa,  I  went  to  see  the  Campo  Santo, 
and  there  I  found  many  beautiful  fragments  of  antiquity,  that 
is  to  say,  marble  sarcophagi.  In  other  parts  of  Pisa  also  I  saw 
many  antique  objects,  which  I  diligently  studied  whenever  I 
had  days  or  hours  free  from  the  labour  of  the  workshop.  My 
master,  who  took  pleasure  in  coming  to  visit  me  in  the  little 
room  which  he  had  allotted  me,  observing  that  I  spent  all 
my  time  in  studious  occupations,  began  to  love  me  like  a 
father.  I  made  great  progress  in  the  one  year  that  I  stayed 
there,  and  completed  several  fine  and  valuable  things  in  gold 
and  silver,  which  inspired  me  with  a  resolute  ambition  to  ad- 
vance in  my  art. 

My  father,  in  the  meanwhile,  kept  writing  piteous  en- 
treaties that  I  should  return  to  him;  and  in  every  letter  bade 
me  not  to  lose  the  music  he  had  taught  me  with  such  trouble. 
On  this,  I  suddenly  gave  up  all  wish  to  go  back  to  him;  so 
much  did  I  hate  that  accursed  music;  and  I  felt  as  though  of 
a  truth  I  were  in  paradise  the  whole  year  I  stayed  at  Pisa, 
where  I  never  played  the  flute. 

At  the  end  of  the  year  my  master  Ulivieri  had  occasion  to 
go  to  Florence,  in  order  to  sell  certain  gold  and  silver  sweep- 
ings which  he  had;  and  inasmuch  as  the  bad  air  of  Pisa  had 
given  me  a  touch  of  fever,  I  went  with  the  fever  hanging  still 
about  me,  in  my  master's  company,  back  to  Florence.  There 
my  father  received  him  most  affectionately,  and  lovingly 
prayed  him,  unknown  by  me,  not  to  insist  on  taking  me  again 
to  Pisa.  I  was  ill  about  two  months,  during  which  time  my 
father  had  me  most  kindly  treated  and  cured,  always  repeat- 
ing that  it  seemed  to  him  a  thousand  years  till  I  got  well 
again,  in  order  that  he  might  hear  me  play  a  little.  But  when 
he  talked  to  me  of  music,  with  his  fingers  on  my  pulse,  seeing 
he  had  some  acquaintance  with  medicine  and  Latin  learning, 
he  felt  it  change  so  much  if  he  approached  that  topic,  that 
he  was  often  dismayed  and  left  my  side  in  tears.  When  I 
perceived  how  greatly  he  was  disappointed,  I  bade  one  of  my 
sisters  bring  me  a  flute;  for  though  the  fever  never  left  me, 
thpt  instrument  is  so  easy  that  it  did  not  hurt  me  to  play  upon 
it;  and  I  used  it  with  such  dexterity  of  hand  and  tongue  that 
my  father,  coming  suddenly  upon  me,  blessed  me  a  thousand 


iS  CELLINI 

times,  exclaiming  that  while  I  was  away  from  him  I  had  made 
great  progress,  as  he  thought;  and  he  begged  me  to  go  for- 
ward, and  not  to  sacrifice  so  fine  an  accomplishment. 

XII 

When  I  had  recovered  my  health,  I  returned  to  my  old 
friend  Marcone,  the  worthy  goldsmith,  who  put  me  in  the  way 
of  earning  money,  with  which  I  helped  my  father  and  our 
household.  About  that  time  there  came  to  Florence  a  sculptor 
named  Piero  Torrigiani ;  ^  he  arrived  from  England,  where  he 
had  resided  many  years;  and  being  intimate  with  my  master, 
he  daily  visited  his  house;  and  when  he  saw  my  drawings  and 
the  things  which  I  was  making,  he  said:  "  I  have  come  to 
Florence  to  enlist  as  many  young  men  as  I  can;  for  I  have 
undertaken  to  execute  a  great  work  for  my  king,  and  want 
some  of  my  own  Florentines  to  help  me.  Now  your  method 
of  working  and  your  designs  are  worthy  rather  of  a  sculptor 
than  a  goldsmith;  and  since  I  have  to  turn  out  a  great  piece 
of  bronze,  I  will  at  the  same  time  turn  you  into  a  rich  and  able 
artist."  This  man  had  a  splendid  person  and  a  most  arrogant 
spirit,  with  the  air  of  a  great  soldier  more  than  of  a  sculptor, 
especially  in  regard  to  his  vehement  gestures  and  his  resonant 
voice,  together  with  a  habit  he  had  of  knitting  his  brows, 
enough  to  frighten  any  man  of  courage.  He  kept  talking 
every  day  about  hi§  gallant  feats  among  those  beasts  of  Eng- 
lishmen. 

In  course  of  conversation  he  happened  to  mention  Michel 
Agnolo  Buonarroti,  led  thereto  by  a  drawing  I  had  made  from 
a  cartoon  of  that  divinest  painter.  This  cartoon  was  the  first 
masterpiece  which  Michel  Agnolo  exhibited,  in  proof  of  his 
stupendous  talents.  He  produced  it  in  competition  with 
another  painter,  Lionardo  da  Vinci,  who  also  made  a  cartoon; 
and  both  were  intended  for  the  council-hall  in  the  palace  of  the 
Signory.  They  represented  the  taking  of  Pisa  by  the  Floren- 
tines; and  our  admirable  Lionardo  had  chosen  to  depict  a 
battle  of  horses,  with  the  capture  of  some  standards,  in  as 
divine  a  style  as  could  possibly  be  imagined.  Michel  Agnolo 
in  his  cartoon  portrayed  a  number  of  foot-soldiers,  who,  the 
season  being  summer,  had  gone  to  bathe  in  Arno.     He  drew 

'  Torrijjiani   worked   in   fact   for  Henry  VIII,  and   his   monument   to 
Henry  VII  still  exists  in  the  Lady  Chapel  of  Westminster  Abbey. 


MEMOIRS  19 

them  at  the  very  moment  the  alarm  is  sounded,  and  the  men 
all  naked  run  to  arms;  so  splendid  in  their  action  that  nothing 
survives  of  ancient  or  of  modern  art  which  touches  the  same 
lofty  point  of  excellence;  and  as  I  have  already  said,  the  design 
of  the  great  Lionardo  was  itself  most  admirably  beautiful. 
These  two  cartoons  stood,  one  in  the  palace  of  the  Medici,  the 
other  in  the  hall  of  the  Pope.  So  long  as  they  remained 
intact,  they  were  the  school  of  the  world.  Though  the  divine 
Michel  Agnolo  in  later  life  finished  that  great  chapel  of  I'ope 
Julius,^  he  never  rose  half-way  to  the  same  pitch  of  power;  his 
genius  never  afterward   attained   to  the   force   of  those   first 

studies. 

XIII 

Now  let  us  return  to  Piero  Torrigiani,  who,  with  my  draw- 
ing in  his  hand,  spoke  as  follows:  "This  Buonarroti  and  I 
used,  when  we  were  boys,  to  go  into  the  Church  of  the  Car- 
mine, to  learn  drawing  from  the  chapel  of  Masaccio.  It  was 
Buonarroti's  habit  to  banter  all  who  were  drawing  there;  and 
one  day,  among  others,  when  he  was  annoying  me,  I  got  more 
angry  than  usual,  and  clenching  my  fist,  gave  him  such  a  blow 
on  the  nose,  that  I  felt  bone  and  cartilage  go  down  like  biscuit 
beneath  my  knuckles;  and  this  mark  of  mine  he  will  carry 
with  him  to  the  grave."  "  These  words  begat  in  me  such 
hatred  of  the  man,  since  I  was  always  gazing  at  the  master- 
pieces of  the  divine  Michel  Agnolo,  that  although  I  felt  a 
wish  to  go  with  him  to  England,  I  now  could  never  bear  the 
sight  of  him. 

All  the  while  I  was  at  Florence,  I  studied  the  noble  manner 
of  Michel  Agnolo,  and  from  this  I  have  never  deviated.  About 
that  time  I  contracted  a  close  and  familiar  friendship  with 
an  amiable  lad  of  my  own  age,  who  was  also  in  the  gold- 
smith's trade.  He  was  called  Francesco,  son  of  Filippo,  and 
grandson  of  Fra  Lippo  Lippi,  that  most  excellent  painter.* 

•  The  Sistine  Chapel  in  the  Vatican. 

"  The  profile  portraits  of  Michel  Anpelo  Buonarroti  show  the  bridge  of 
his  nose  bent  in  an  angle,  as  though  it  had  been  broken. 

^  Fra  Filippo  Lippi  was  a  Carmelite  monk,  whose  frescoes  at  Prato 
and  Spoleto  and  oil-paintings  in  Florence  and  elsewhere  are  among  the 
most  genial  works  of  the  pre-Raphaelite  Renaissance.  His  son,  Filippo 
or  Filippino,  was  also  an  able  painter,  some  of  whose  best  work  survives 
in  the  Strozzi  Chapel  of  S.  Maria  Novella  at  Florence,  and  in  the  Church 
of  S.  Maria  Sopra  Minerva  at  Rome. 


20  CELLINI 

Through  intercourse  together,  such  love  grew  up  between  us 
that,  day  or  night,  we  never  stayed  apart.  The  house  where 
he  hved  was  still  full  of  the  fine  studies  which  his  father  had 
made,  bound  up  in  several  books  of  drawings  by  his  hand,  and 
taken  from  the  best  antiquities  of  Rome.  The  sight  of  these 
things  filled  me  with  passionate  enthusiasm;  and  for  two 
years  or  thereabouts  we  lived  in  intimacy.  At  that  time  I 
fashioned  a  silver  bas-relief  of  the  size  of  a  little  child's  hand. 
It  was  intended  for  the  clasp  to  a  man's  belt;  for  they  were 
then  worn  as  large  as  that.  I  carved  on  it  a  knot  of  leaves  in 
the  antique  style,  with  figures  of  children  and  other  masks  of 
great  beauty.  This  piece  I  made  in  the  workshop  of  one 
Francesco  Salimbene;  and  on  its  being  exhibited  to  the  trade, 
the  goldsmiths  praised  me  as  the  best  young  craftsman  of 
their  art. 

There  was  one  Giovan  Battista,  surnamed  II  Tasso,  a  wood- 
carver,  precisely  of  my  own  age,  who  one  day  said  to  me  that 
if  I  was  willing  to  go  to  Rome,  he  should  be  glad  to  join  me. 
Now  we  had  this  conversation  together  immediately  after 
dinner;  and  I  being  angry  with  my  father  for  the  same  old 
reason  of  the  music,  said  to  Tasso:  "  You  are  a  fellow  of 
words,  not  deeds."  He  answered:  "I  too  have  come  to 
anger  with  my  mother;  and  if  I  had  cash  enough  to  take  me 
to  Rome,  I  would  not  turn  back  to  lock  the  door  of  that 
wretched  little  workshop  I  call  mine."  To  these  words  I 
replied  that  if  that  was  all  that  kept  him  in  Florence  I  had 
money  enough  in  my  pockets  to  bring  us  both  to  Rome. 
Talking  thus  and  walking  onward,  we  found  ourselves  at  the 
gate  San  Picro  Gattolini  without  noticing  that  we  had  got 
there;  whereupon  I  said:  "  Friend  Tasso,  this  is  God's  doing 
that  we  have  reached  this  gate  without  either  you  or  me 
noticing  that  we  were  there;  and  now  that  I  am  here,  it 
seems  to  me  that  I  have  finished  half  the  journey."  And  so, 
being  of  one  accord,  we  pursued  our  way  together,  saying, 
"  Oh,  what  will  our  old  folks  say  this  evening?  "  We  then 
made  an  agreement  not  to  think  more  about  them  till  we 
reached  Rome.  So  we  tied  our  aprons  behind  our  backs,  and 
trudged  almost  in  silence  to  Siena.  When  we  arrived  at 
Siena,  Tasso  said  (for  he  had  hurt  his  feet)  that  he  would  not 
go  farther,  and  asked  me  to  lend  him  money  to  get  back.  I 
made  answer:  "  I  should  not  have  enough  left  to  go  forward; 


MEMOIRS  2  1 

you  ought  indeed  to  have  thought  of  this  on  leaving  Florence; 
and  if  it  is  because  of  your  feet  that  you  shirk  the  journey, 
we  will  find  a  return  horse  for  Rome,  which  will  deprive  you 
of  the  excuse."  Accordingly  I  hired  a  horse;  and  seeing 
that  he  did  not  answer,  I  took  my  way  toward  the  gate  of 
Rome.  When  he  knew  that  I  was  firmly  resolved  to  go, 
muttering  between  his  teeth,  and  limping  as  well  as  he  could, 
he  came  on  behind  me  very  slowly  and  at  a  great  distance. 
On  reaching  the  gate,  I  felt  pity  for  my  comrade,  and  waited 
for  him,  and  took  him  on  the  crupper,  saying:  "  What  would 
our  friends  speak  of  us  to-morrow,  if,  having  left  for  Rome,  we 
had  not  pluck  to  get  beyond  Siena?  "  Then  the  good  Tasso 
said  I  spoke  the  truth;  and  as  he  was  a  pleasant  fellow,  he 
began  to  laugh  and  sing;  and  in  this  way,  always  singing  and 
laughing,  we  travelled  the  whole  way  to  Rome.  I  wa^just 
nineteen  years  old  then,  and  so  was  the  century. 

When  we  reached  Rome,  I  put  myself  under  a  master 
who  was  known  as  II  Firenzuola.  His  name  was  Giovanni, 
and  he  came  from  Firenzuola  in  Lombardy,  a  most  able 
craftsman  in  large  vases  and  big  plate  of  that  kind.  I  showed 
him  part  of  the  model  for  the  clasp  which  I  had  made  in 
Florence  at  Salimbene's.  It  pleased  him  exceedingly;  and 
turning  to  one  of  his  journeymen,  a  Florentine  called  Gian- 
notto  Giannotti,  who  had  been  several  years  with  him,  he  spoke 
as  follows:  "  This  fellow  is  one  of  the  Florentines  who  know 
something,  and  you  are  one  of  those  who  know  nothing." 
Then  I  recognised  the  man,  and  turned  to  speak  with  him;  for 
before  he  went  to  Rome,  we  often  went  to  draw  together,  and 
had  been  very  intimate  comrades.  He  was  so  put  out  by  the 
words  his  master  flung  at  him,  that  he  said  he  did  not  recog- 
nise me  or  know  who  I  was ;  whereupon  I  got  angry,  and  cried 
out:  "  O  Giannotto,  you  who  were  once  my  friend — for  have 
we  not  been  together  in  such  and  such  places,  and  drawn,  and 
ate,  and  drunk,  and  slept  in  company  at  your  house  in  the 
country?  I  don't  want  you  to  bear  witness  on  my  behalf 
to  this  worthy  man,  your  master,  because  I  hope  my  hands 
are  such  that  without  aid  from  you  they  will  declare  what  sort 

of  a  fellow  I  am." 

XIV 

When  I  had  thus  spoken,  Firenzuola,  who  was  a  man  of 
hot  spirit  and  brave,  turned  to  Giannotto,  and  said  to  him: 


22  CELLINI 

"  You  vile  rascal,  aren't  yon  ashanioil  to  treat  a  man  who  has 
been  so  intimate  a  coniraile  with  yon  in  this  way?  "  And  with 
the  same  movement  of  cjuiek  feeling^,  he  faced  round  and  said 
to  me;  "Welcome  to  my  workshop;  and  do  as  you  have 
promised;  let  your  hands  declare  what  man  you  are." 

He  gave  me  a  very  fine  piece  of  silver  plate  to  work  on 
for  a  cardinal,  it  was  a  little  oblong  box,  copied  from  the 
porphyry  sarcophagus  before  the  door  of  the  Rotontla.  Be- 
side what  I  copied,  I  enriched  it  with  so  many  elegatU  masks 
of  my  invention,  that  my  master  went  about  showing  it  through 
the  art,  and  boasting  that  so  good  a  piece  of  work  had  been 
turned  out  from  his  shop.  It  was  about  half  a  cubit  in  size, 
and  was  so  constructed  as  to  serve  for  a  salt-cellar  at  table. 
This  was  the  first  earning  that  I  touched  at  Rome,  and  part  of 
it  I  sent  to  assist  my  good  father;  the  rest  I  kept  for  my  own 
use,  living  upon  it  while  I  went  about  studying  the  antiijuities 
of  Rome,  until  my  money  failed,  and  I  had  to  return  to  the 
shop  for  work.  Battista  del  Tasso,  my  comrade,  did  not  stay 
long  in  Rome,  but  went  back  to  Florence. 

After  undertaking  some  new  commissions,  I  took  it  into 
my  head,  as  soon  as  I  had  finished  them,  to  change  my  master; 
I  had  indeed  been  worried  into  doing  so  by  a  certain  Milanese, 
called  Pagolo  Arsago.  My  first  master,  Firenzuola,  had  a 
great  quarrel  about  this  with  Arsago,  and  abused  him  in  my 
presence;  whereupon  I  took  up  speech  in  defence  of  my  new 
master.  I  said  that  I  was  born  free,  and  free  I  meant  to  live, 
and  that  there  was  no  reason  to  complain  of  him,  far  less  of 
me,  since  some  few  crowns  of  wages  were  still  due  to  me;  also 
that  I  chose  to  go,  like  a  free  journeyman,  where  it  pleased  me, 
knowing  I  did  wrong  to  no  man.  My  new  master  then  put  in 
with  his  excuses,  saying  that  he  had  not  asked  me  to  come, 
and  that  I  should  gratify  him  by  returning  with  h^irenzuola. 
To  this  I  replied  that  I  was  not  aware  of  wronging  the  latter 
in  any  way,  and  as  I  had  completed  his  conmiissions,  I  chose 
to  be  my  ow^n  master  and  not  the  man  of  others,  and  that  he 
who  wanted  me  must  beg  me  of  myself.  Firenzuola  cried: 
"  I  don't  intend  to  beg  you  of  yourself;  T  have  (U)ne  with  you; 
don't  show  yourself  again  upon  my  premises."  I  reminded 
him  of  the  money  he  owed  me.  He  laughed  me  in  the  face; 
on  which  I  said  that  if  T  knew  how  to  use  my  tools  in  handi- 
craft as  well  as  he  had  seen,  I  could  be  quite  as  clever  with  my 


MEMOIRS 


23 


sword  in  claiming  the  just  payment  of  my  labour.  While  we 
were  exchanging  these  words,  an  old  man  happened  to  come 
up,  called  Maestro  Antonio,  of  San  Marino.  He  was  the  chief 
among  the  Roman  goldsmiths,  and  had  been  Firenzuola's 
master.  Hearing  what  I  had  to  say,  which  I  took  good  care 
that  he  should  understand,  he  immediately  espoused  my  cause, 
and  bade  Firenzuola  pay  me.  The  dispute  waxed  warm,  be- 
cause Firenzuola  was  an  admirable  swordsman,  far  better  than 
he  was  a  goldsmith.  Yet  reason  made  itself  heard;  and  I 
backed  my  cause  with  the  same  spirit,  till  I  got  myself  paid. 
In  course  of  time  I'irenzuola  and  I  became  friends,  and  at 
his  request  I  stood  godfather  to  one  of  his  children. 

XV 

I  went  on  working  with  Pagolo  Arsago,  and  earned  a  good 
deal  of  money,  the  greater  part  of  which  I  always  sent  to  my 
good  father.  At  the  end  of  two  years,  upon  my  father's  en- 
treaty, I  returned  to  Florence,  and  put  myself  once  more 
under  PVancesco  Salimbene,  with  whom  I  earned  a  great 
deal,  and  took  continual  pains  to  improve  in  my  art.  I  re- 
newed my  intimacy  with  Francesco  di  Filippo;  and  though  I 
was  too  much  given  to  pleasure,  owing  to  that  accursed  music, 
I  never  neglected  to  devote  some  hours  of  the  day  or  night  to 
study.  At  that  time  I  fashioned  a  silver  heart's-key,  as  it  was 
then  called.  This  was  a  girdle  three  inches  broad,  which  used 
to  be  made  for  brides,  and  was  executed  in  half  relief  with 
some  small  figures  in  the  round.  It  was  a  commission  from 
a  man  called  Raffaello  Lapaccini.  I  was  very  badly  paid;  but 
the  honour  which  it  brought  me  was  worth  far  more  than 
the  gain  I  might  have  justly  made  by  it.  Having  at  this  time 
worked  with  many  different  persons  in  Florence,  I  had  come 
to  know  some  worthy  men  among  the  goldsmiths,  as,  for  in- 
stance, Marcone,  my  first  master;  but  I  also  met  with  others 
reputed  honest,  who  did  all  they  could  to  ruin  me,  and  robbed 
me  grossly.  When  I  perceived  this,  I  left  their  company,  and 
held  them  for  thieves  and  blackguards.  One  of  the  gold- 
smiths, called  Giovanbattista  Sogliani,  kindly  accommodated 
me  with  part  of  his  shop,  which  stood  at  the  side  of  the  New 
Market  near  the  Landi's  bank.  There  I  finished  several  pretty 
pieces,  and  made  good  gains,  and  was  able  to  give  my  family 
much  help.    This  roused  the  jealousy  of  the  bad  men  among 


24 


CELLINI 


my  former  masters,  who  were  called  Salvadore  and  Michele 
Guasconti.  In  the  guild  of  the  goldsmiths  they  had  three  big 
shops,  and  drove  a  thriving  trade.  On  becoming  aware  of 
their  evil  will  against  me,  I  complained  to  certain  worthy 
fellows,  and  remarked  that  they  ought  to  have  been  satisfied 
with  the  thieveries  they  practised  on  me  under  the  cloak  of 
hypocritical  kindness.  This  coming  to  their  ears,  they  threat- 
ened to  make  me  sorely  repent  of  such  words;  but  I,  who 
knew  not  what  the  colour  of  fear  was,  paid  them  little  or 

no  heed. 

XVI 

It  chanced  one  day  that  I  was  leaning  against  a  shop  of  one 
of  these  men,  who  called  out  to  me,  and  began  partly  re- 
proaching, partly  bullying.  I  answered  that  had  they  done 
their  duty  by  me,  I  should  have  spoken  of  them  what  one 
speaks  of  good  and  worthy  men;  but  as  they  had  done  the 
contrary,  they  ought  to  complain  of  themselves  and  not  of  me. 
While  I  was  standing  there  and  talking,  one  of  them,  named 
Gherardo  Guasconti,  their  cousin,  having  perhaps  been  put  up 
to  it  by  them,  lay  in  wait  till  a  beast  of  burden  went  by.  It 
was  a  load  of  bricks.  When  the  load  reached  me,  Gherardo 
pushed  it  so  violently  on  my  body  that  I  was  very  much  hurt. 
Turning  suddenly  round  and  seeing  him  laughing,  I  struck 
him  such  a  blow  on  the  temple  that  he  fell  down,  stunned,  like 
one  dead.  Then  I  faced  round  to  his  cousins,  and  said: 
"  That's  the  way  to  treat  cowardly  thieves  of  your  sort;  "  and 
when  they  wanted  to  make  a  move  upon  me,  trusting  to  their 
numbers,  I,  whose  blood  was  now  well  up,  laid  hands  to  a 
little  knife  I  had,  and  cried:  "  If  one  of  you  comes  out  of  the 
shop,  let  the  other  run  for  the  confessor,  because  the  doctor 
will  have  nothing  to  do  here."  These  words  so  frightened 
them  that  not  one  stirred  to  help  their  cousin.  As  soon  as  I 
had  gone,  the  fathers  and  sons  ran  to  the  Eight,  and  declared 
that  I  had  assaulted  them  in  their  shops  with  sword  in  hand,  a 
thing  which  had  never  yet  been  seen  in  Florence.  The  mag- 
istrates had  me  summoned.  I  appeared  before  them;  and 
they  began  to  upbraid  and  cry  out  upon  me — partly,  I  think, 
because  they  saw  me  in  my  cloak,  while  the  others  were 
dressed  like  citizens  in  mantle  and  hood;^  but  also  because 

'  Varchi  says  that  a  man  who  went  about  with  only  his  cloak  or  cape 
by  daytime,  if  he  were  not  a  soldier,  was  reputed  an  ill-liver. 


MEMOIRS  25 

my  adversaries  had  been  to  the  houses  of  those  magistrates, 
and  had  talked  with  all  of  them  in  private,  while  I,  inex- 
perienced in  such  matters,  had  not  spoken  to  any  of  them, 
trusting  in  the  goodness  of  my  cause.  1  said  that,  having  re- 
ceived such  outrage  and  insult  from  Gherardo,  and  in  my  fury 
having  only  given  him  a  box  on  the  ear,  I  did  not  think  I  de- 
served such  a  vehement  reprimand.  I  had  hardly  time  to 
finish  the  word  box,  before  Prinzivalle  della  Stufa,  who  was 
one  of  the  Eight,  interrupted  me  by  saying:  "  You  gave  him  a 
blow,  and  not  a  box,  on  the  ear."  The  bell  was  rung  and  we 
were  all  ordered  out,  when  Prinzivalle  spoke  thus  in  my  de- 
fence to  his  brother  judges:  "  Mark,  sirs,  the  simplicity  of  this 
poor  young  man,  who  has  accused  himself  of  having  given  a 
box  on  the  ear,  under  the  impression  that  this  is  of  less  impor- 
tance than  a  blow;  whereas  a  box  on  the  ear  in  the  New 
Alarket  carries  a  fine  of  twenty-five  crowns,  while  a  blow  costs 
little  or  nothing.  He  is  a  young  man  of  admirable  talents, 
and  supports  his  poor  family  by  his  labour  in  great  abundance; 
I  would  to  God  that  our  city  had  plenty  of  this  sort,  instead 
of  the  present  dearth  of  them." 

XVII 

Among  the  magistrates  were  some  Radical  fellows  with 
turned-up  hoods,  who  had  been  influenced  by  the  entreaties 
and  the  calumnies  of  my  opponents,  because  they  all  belonged 
to  the  party  of  Fra  Girolamo;  and  these  men  would  have  had 
me  sent  to  prison  and  punished  without  too  close  a  reckoning. 
But  the  good  Prinzivalle  put  a  stop  to  that.  So  they  sen- 
tenced me  to  pay  four  measures  of  flour,  which  were  to  be 
.given  as  alms  to  the  nunnery  of  the  Murate.  I  was  called  in 
again;  and  he  ordered  me  not  to  speak  a  word  under  pain 
of  their  displeasure,  and  to  perform  the  sentence  they  had 
passed.  Then,  after  giving  me  another  sharp  rebuke,  they 
sent  us  to  the  chancellor;  I  muttering  all  the  while,  "  It  was  a 
slap  and  not  a  blow,"  with  which  we  left  the  Eight  bursting 
with  laughter.  The  chancellor  bound  us  over  upon  bail  on 
both  sides;  but  only  I  w^as  punished  by  having  to  pay  the  four 
measures  of  meal.  Albeit  just  then  I  felt  as  though  I  had 
been  massacred,  I  sent  for  one  of  my  cousins,  called  Maestro 
Annibale,  the  surgeon,  father  of  Messer  Librodoro  Librodori, 
desiring  that  he  should  go  bail  for  me.     He  refused  to  come. 


26  CELLINI 

which  made  me  so  angry,  that,  fuming  with  fury  and  swelling 
like  an  asp,  I  took  a  desperate  resolve.  At  this  point  one  may 
observe  how  the  stars  do  not  so  much  sway  as  force  our  con- 
duct. When  I  reflected  on  the  great  obligations  which  this 
Annibale  owed  my  family,  my  rage  grew  to  such  a  pitch  that, 
turning  wholly  to  evil,  and  being  also  by  nature  somewhat 
choleric,  I  waited  till  the  magistrates  had  gone  to  dinner;  and 
when  I  was  alone,  and  observed  that  none  of  their  officers  were 
watching  me,  in  the  fire  of  my  anger,  I  left  the  palace,  ran 
to  my  shop,  seized  a  dagger,  and  rushed  to  the  house  of  my 
enemies,  who  were  at  home  and  shop  together.  I  found  them 
at  table;  and  Gherardo,  who  had  been  the  cause  of  the  quar- 
rel, flung  himself  upon  me.  I  stabbed  him  in  the  breast,  pierc- 
ing doublet  and  jerkin  through  and  through  to  the  shirt, 
without  however  grazing  his  flesh  or  doing  him  the  least  harm 
in  the  world.  When  I  felt  my  hand  go  in,  and  heard  the 
clothes  tear,  I  thought  that  I  had  killed  him;  and  seeing  him 
fall  terror-struck  to  earth,  I  cried:  "Traitors,  this  day  is  the 
day  on  which  I  mean  to  murder  you  all."  Father,  mother, 
and  sisters,  thinking  the  last  day  had  come,  threw  themselves 
upon  their  knees,  screaming  out  for  mercy  with  all  their 
might;  but  I  perceiving  that  they  offered  no  resistance,  and 
that  he  was  stretched  for  dead  upon  the  ground,  thought  it 
too  base  a  thing  to  touch  them.  I  ran  storming  down  the 
staircase;  and  when  I  reached  the  street,  I  found  all  the  rest 
of  the  household,  more  than  twelve  persons;  one  of  them  had 
seized  an  iron  shovel,  another  a  thick  iron  pipe,  one  had  an 
anvil,  some  of  them  hammers,  and  some  cudgels.  When  I 
got  among  them,  raging  like  a  mad  bull,  1  flimg  four  or  five  to 
the  earth,  and  fell  down  with  them  myself,  continually  aiming 
my  dagger  now  at  one  and  now  at  another.  Those  who  re- 
mained upright  plied  both  hands  with  all  their  force,  giving 
it  me  with  hammers,  cudgels,  and  anvil;  but  inasmuch  as 
God  does  sometimes  mercifully  intervene.  He  so  ordered  that 
neither  they  nor  I  did  any  harm  to  one  another.  I  lost  -only 
my  cap,  on  which  my  adversaries  seized,  though  they  had  run 
away  from  it  before,  and  struck  at  it  with  all  their  weapons. 
Afterward,  they  searched  among  their  dead  and  wounded, 
and  saw  that  not  a  single  man  was  injured. 


MEMOIRS 


XVIII 


27 


I  went  off  in  the  direction  of  Santa  Maria  Novella,  and 
stumbling  up  against  Fra  Alessio  Strozzi,  whom  by  the  way 
I  did  not  know,  I  entreated  this  good  friar  for  the  love  of  God 
to  save  my  life,  since  I  had  committed  a  great  fault.  He  told 
me  to  have  no  fear;  for  had  I  done  every  sin  in  the  world,  I 
was  yet  in  perfect  safety  in  his  little  cell. 

After  about  an  hour,  the  Eight,  in  an  extraordinary  meet- 
ing, caused  one  of  the  most  dreadful  bans  which  ever  were 
heard  of  to  be  published  against  me,  announcing  heavy  penal- 
ties against  who  should  harbour  me  or  know  where  I  was, 
without  regard  to  place  or  to  the  quality  of  my  protector.  My 
poor  aflhcted  father  went  to  the  Eight,  threw  himself  upon 
his  knees,  and  prayed  for  mercy  for  his  unfortunate  young 
son.  Thereupon  one  of  those  Radical  fellows,  shaking  the 
crest  of  his  twisted  hood,  stood  up  and  addressed  my  father 
with  these  insulting  words:  "  Get  up  from  there,  and  begone 
at  once,  for  to-morrow  we  shall  send  your  son  into  the  country 
with  the  lances."  My  poor  father  had  still  the  spirit  to  an- 
swer: "  What  God  shall  have  ordained,  that  will  you  do,  and 
not  a  jot  or  tittle  more."  Whereto  the  same  man  replied  that 
for  certain  God  had  ordained  as  he  had  spoken.  My  father 
said:  "The  thought  consoles  me  that  you  do  not  know  for 
certain ;  "  and  quitting  their  presence,  he  came  to  visit  me, 
together  with  a  young  man  of  my  own  age,  called  Piero  di 
Giovanni  Landi — we  loved  one  another  as  though  we  had 
been  brothers. 

Under  his  mantle  the  lad  carried  a  first-rate  sword  and  a 
'splendid  coat  of  mail;  and  when  they  found  me,  my  brave 
father  told  me  what  had  happened,  and  what  the  magistrates 
had  said  to  him.  Then  he  kissed  me  on  the  forehead  and 
both  eyes,  and  gave  mc  his  hearty  blessing,  saying:  "  May 
the  power  and  goodness  of  God  be  your  protection;"  and 
reaching  me  the  sword  and  armour,  he  helped  me  with  his 
own  hands  to  put  them  on.  Afterward  he  added:  "  Oh,  my 
good  son,  with  these  arms  in  thy  hand  thou  shalt  either  live 
or  die."  Pier  Landi,  who  was  present,  kept  shedding  tears; 
and  when  he  had  given  me  ten  golden  crowns.  I  bade  him 
remove  a  few  hairs  from  my  chin,  which  were  the  first  down 
of  my  manhood.     Prate  Alessio  disguised  me  like  a  friar  and 


28  CELLINI 

gave  me  a  lay  brother  to  go  with  me.  Quitting  the  convent, 
and  issuing  from  the  city  by  the  gate  of  Prato,  I  v^ent  along 
the  walls  as  far  as  the  Piazza  di  San  Gallo.  Then  I  ascended 
the  slope  of  Montui,  and  in  one  of  the  first  houses  there  I  found 
a  man  called  II  Grassuccio,  own  brother  to  Messer  Benedetto 
da  Monte  Varchi.^  I  flung  off  my  monk's  clothes,  and  be- 
came once  more  a  man.  Then  we  mounted  two  horses,  which 
were  waiting  there  for  us,  and  went  by  night  to  Siena.  Gras- 
succio returned  to  Florence,  sought  out  my  father,  and  gave 
him  the  news  of  my  safe  escape.  In  the  excess  of  his  joy,  it 
seemed  a  thousand  years  to  my  father  till  he  should  meet 
that  member  of  the  Eight  who  had  insulted  him;  and  when 
he  came  across  the  man,  he  said:  "See  you,  Antonio,  that 
it  was  God  who  knew  what  had  to  happen  to  my  son,  and 
not  yourself?"  To  which  the  fellow  answered:  "Only  let 
him  get  another  time  into  our  clutches!"  And  my  father: 
"  I  shall  spend  my  time  in  thanking  God  that  He  has  rescued 
him  from  that  fate." 

XIX 

At  Siena  I  waited  for  the  mail  to  Rome,  which  I  afterward 
joined;  and  when  we  passed  the  Paglia,  we  met  a  courier 
carrying  news  of  the  new  Pope,  Clement  VII.  Upon  my 
arrival  in  Rome,  I  went  to  work  in  the  shop  of  the  master- 
goldsmith  Santi.  He  was  dead;  but  a  son  of  his  carried  on  the 
business.  He  did  not  work  himself,  but  entrusted  all  his 
commissions  to  a  young  man  named  Lucagnolo  from  lesi,  a 
country  fellow,  who  while  yet  a  child  had  come  into  Santi's 
service.  This  man  was  short  but  well  proportioned,  and  was 
a  more  skilful  craftsman  than  any  one  whom  I  had  met  with 
up  to  that  time;  remarkable  for  facility  and  excellent  in  de- 
sign. He  executed  large  plate  only;  that  is  to  say,  vases  of 
the  utmost  beauty,  basins,  and  such  pieces.  Having  put  my- 
self to  work  there,  I  began  to  make  some  candelabra  for  the 
Bishop  of  Salamanca,  a  Spaniard."  They  were  richly  chased, 
so  far  as  that  sort  of  work  admits.     A  pupil  of  Raffaello  da 

'  Benedetto  da  Monte  Varchi  was  the  celebrated  poet,  scholar,  and  his- 
torian of  Florence,  better  known  as  Varchi.  Another  of  his  brothers  was 
a  physician  of  high  repute  at  Florence. 

*  Don  Francesco  de  Bobadilla.  He  came  to  Rome  in  1517,  was  shut 
up  with  Clement  in  the  Castle  of  S.  Angelo  in  1527,  and  died  in  1529, 
after  his  return  to  Spain. 


MEMOIRS 


29 


Urbino  called  Gian  Francesco,  and  commonly  known  as  II 
Fattorc,  was  a  painter  of  great  ability;  and  being  on  terms 
of  friendship  with  the  Bishop,  he  introduced  me  to  his  favour, 
so  that  I  obtained  many  commissions  from  that  prelate,  and 
earned  considerable  sums  of  money.* 

During  that  time  I  went  to  draw,  sometimes  in  Michel 
Agnolo's  chapel,  and  sometimes  in  the  house  of  Agostino 
Chigi  of  Siena,  which  contained  many  incomparable  paintings 
by  the  hand  of  that  great  master  Raffaello.''  This  I  did  on 
feast-days,  because  the  house  was  then  inhabited  byMesser  Gis- 
mondo,  Agostino's  brother.  They  plumed  themselves  exceed- 
ingly when  they  saw  young  men  of  my  sort  coming  to  study  in 
their  palaces.  Gismondo's  wife,  noticing  my  frequent  pres- 
ence in  that  house — she  was  a  lady  as  courteous  as  could  be, 
and  of  surpassing  beauty — came  up  to  me  one  day,  looked  at 
my  drawings,  and  asked  me  if  I  was  a  sculptor  or  a  painter; 
I  told  her  that  I  was  a  goldsmith.  She  remarked  that  I  drew 
too  well  for  a  goldsmith;  and  having  made  one  of  her  waiting- 
maids  bring  a  lily  of  the  finest  diamonds  set  in  gold,  she 
showed  it  to  me,  and  bade  me  value  it.  I  valued  it  at  800 
crowns.  Then  she  said  that  I  had  very  nearly  hit  the  mark, 
and  asked  me  whether  I  felt  capable  of  setting  the  stones  really 
well.  I  said  that  I  should  much  like  to  do  so,  and  began 
before  her  eyes  to  make  a  little  sketch  for  it,  working  all  the 
better  because  of  the  pleasure  I  took  in  conversing  with  so 
lovely  and  agreeable  a  gentlewoman.  When  the  sketch  was 
finished,  another  Roman  lady  of  great  beauty  joined  us;  she 
had  been  above,  and  now  descending  to  the  ground-floor, 
asked  Madonna  Porzia  what  she  was  doing  there.  She  an- 
swered with  a  smile:  "  I  am  amusing  myself  by  watching  this 
worthy  young  man  at  his  drawing;  he  is  as  good  as  he  is 
handsome."  I  had  by  this  time  acquired  a  trifle  of  assurance, 
mixed,  however,  with  some  honest  bashfulness;  so  I  blushed 
and  said:  "  Such  as  I  am,  lady,  I  shall  ever  be  most  ready  to 
serve  you."     The  gentlewoman,  also  slightly  blushing,  said: 

'  This  painter,  Gio.  Francesco  Penni,  aided  Raphael  in  his  Roman 
frescoes  and  was  much  beloved  by  him.  Together  with  Giulio  Romano 
he  completed  the  imperfect  Stanze  of  the  Vatican. 

*  Cellini  here  alludes  to  the  Sistine  Chapel  and  to  the  Villa  Farnesina 
in  Trastevere,  built  by  the  Sienese  banker,  Agostino  Chigi.  It  was  here 
that  Raphael  painted  his  Galatea  and  the  whole  fable  of  Cupid  and 
Psyche. 


30  CELLINI 

"  You  know  well  that  I  walit  you  to  serve  me; "  and  reaching 
me  the  lily,  told  me  to  take  it  away;  and  gave  me  besides 
twenty  golden  crowns  which  she  had  in  her  bag,  and  added: 
"  Set  me  the  jewel  after  the  fashion  you  have  sketched,  and 
keep  for  me  the  old  gold  in  which  it  is  now  set."  On  this 
the  Roman  lady  observed:  "  If  I  were  in  that  young  man's 
body,  I  should  go  away  without  asking  leave."  Madonna 
Porzia  replied  that  virtues  rarely  are  at  home  with  vices,  and 
that  if  I  did  such  a  thing,  I  should  strongly  belie  my  good 
looks  of  an  honest  man.  Then  turning  round,  she  took  the 
Roman  lady's  hand,  and  with  a  pleasant  smile  said:  "  Fare- 
well, Benvenuto."  I  stayed  on  a  short  while  at  the  drawing 
I  was  making,  which  was  a  copy  of  a  Jove  by  Rafifaello.  When 
I  had  finished  it  and  left  the  house,  I  set  myself  to  making  a 
little  model  of  wax,  in  order  to  show  how  the  jewel  would  look 
when  it  was  completed.  This  I  took  to  Madonna  Porzia, 
whom  I  found  with  the  same  Roman  lady.  Both  of  them 
were  highly  satisfied  with  my  work,  and  treated  me  so  kindly 
that,  being  somewhat  emboldened,  I  promised  the  jewel  should 
be  twice  as  good  as  the  model.  Accordingly  I  set  hand  to  it, 
and  in  twelve  days  I  finished  it  in  the  form  of  a  fleur-de-lys, 
as  I  have  said  above,  ornamenting  it  with  little  masks,  chil- 
dren, and  animals,  exquisitely  enamelled,  whereby  the  dia- 
monds which  formed  the  lily  were  more  than  doubled  in  effect. 

XX 

While  I  was  working  at  this  piece,  Lucagnolo,  of  whose 
ability  I  have  before  spoken,  showed  considerable  discontent, 
telling  me  over  and  over  again  that  I  might  acquire  far  more 
profit  and  honour  by  helping  him  to  execute  large  plate,  as  I 
had  done  at  first.  I  made  him  answer  that,  whenever  I  chose, 
I  should  always  be  capable  of  working  at  great  silver  pieces; 
but  that  things  like  that  on  which  I  was  now  engaged  were 
not  commissioned  every  day;  and  beside  their  bringing  no  less 
honour  than  large  silver  plate,  there  was  also  more  profit  to  be 
made  by  them.  He  laughed  me  in  the  face,  and  said:  "  Wait 
and  see,  Benvenuto;  for  by  the  time  that  you  have  finished 
that  work  of  yours,  I  will  make  haste  to  have  finished  this 
vase,  which  I  took  in  hand  when  you  did  the  jewel;  and  then 
experience  shall  teach  you  what  profit  I  shall  get  from  my 
vase,  and  what  you  will  get  from  your  ornament."    I  answered 


MEMOIRS 


31 


that  I  was  very  glad  indeed  to  enter  into  such  a  competition 
with  so  good  a  craftsman  as  he  was,  because  the  end  would 
show  which  of  us  was  mistaken.  Accordingly  both  the  one 
and  the  other  of  us,  with  a  scornful  smile  uj^on  our  lips,  bent 
our  heads  in  grim  earnest  to  the  work,  which  both  were 
now  desirous  of  accomplishing;  so  that  after  about  ten  days, 
each  had  finished  his  undertaking  with  great  delicacy  and 
artistic  skill. 

Lucagnolo's  was  a  huge  silver  piece,  used  at  the  table  of 
Pope  Clement,  into  which  he  flung  away  bits  of  bone  and  the 
rind  of  divers  fruits,  while  eating;  an  object  of  ostentation 
rather  than  necessity.  The  vase  was  adorned  with  two  fine 
handles,  together  with  many  masks,  both  small  and  great,  and 
masses  of  lovely  foliage,  in  as  exquisite  a  style  of  elegance  as 
could  be  imagined;  on  seeing  which  I  said  it  was  the  most 
beautiful  vase  that  ever  I  set  eyes  on.  Thinking  he  had  con- 
vinced me,  Lucagnolo  replied:  "  Your  work  seems  to  me 
no  less  beautiful,  but  we  shall  soon  perceive  the  difference 
between  the  two."  So  he  took  his  vase  and  carried  it  to  the 
Pope,  who  was  very  well  pleased  with  it,  and  ordered  at  once 
that  he  should  be  paid  at  the  ordinary  rate  of  such  large  plate. 
Meanwhile  I  carried  mine  to  Madonna  Porzia,  who  looked  at 
it  with  astonishment,  and  told  me  I  had  far  surpassed  my 
promise.  Then  she  bade  me  ask  for  my  reward  whatever  I 
litvcd;  for  it  seemed  to  her  my  desert  was  so  great  that  if  I 
craved  a  castle  she  could  hardly  recompense  me;  but  since 
that  was  not  in  her  hands  to  bestow,  she  added  laughing  that 
I  must  beg  what  lay  within  her  power.  I  answered  that  the 
greatest  reward  I  could  desire  for  my  labour  was  to  have  satis- 
fied her  ladyship.  Then,  smiling  in  my  turn,  and  bowing  to 
her,  I  took  my  leave,  saying  I  wanted  no  reward  but  that. 
She  turned  to  the  Roman  lady  and  said :  "  You  see  that  the 
qualities  we  discerned  in  him  are  companied  by  virtues,  and 
not  vices."  They  both  expressed  their  admiration,  and  then 
Madonna  Porzia  continued:  "  Friend  Benvenuto,  have  you 
never  heard  it  said  that  when  the  poor  give  to  the  rich,  the 
devil  laughs?  "  I  replied:  "  Quite  true!  and  yet,  in  the  midst 
of  all  his  troubles,  I  should  like  this  time  to  see  him  laugh;  " 
and  as  I  took  my  leave,  she  said  that  this  time  she  had  no  will 
to  bestow  on  him  that  favour. 

When  I  came  back  to  the  shop,  Lucagnolo  had  the  money 


32 


CELLINI 


for  his  vase  in  a  paper  packet;  and  on  my  arrival  he  cried 
out:  "  Come  and  compare  the  price  of  your  jewel  with  the 
price  of  my  plate."  I  said  that  he  must  leave  things  as  they 
were  till  the  next  day,  because  I  hoped  that  even  as  my  work 
in  its  kind  was  not  less  excellent  than  his,  so  I  should  be  able 
to  show  him  quite  an  equal  price  for  it. 

XXI 

On  the  day  following.  Madonna  Porzia  sent  a  majo-domo 
of  hers  to  my  shop,  who  called  me  out,  and  putting  into  my 
hands  a  paper  packet  full  of  money  from  his  lady,  told  me 
that  she  did  not  choose  the  devil  should  have  his  whole  laugh 
out:  by  which  she  hinted  that  the  money  sent  me  was  not 
the  entire  payment  merited  by  my  industry,  and  other  mes- 
sages were  added  worthy  of  so  courteous  a  lady.  Lucagnolo, 
who  was  burning  to  compare  his  packet  with  mine,  burst  into 
the  shop;  then  in  the  presence  of  twelve  journeymen  and  some 
neighbours,  eager  to  behold  the  result  of  this  competition, 
he  seized  his  packet,  scornfully  exclaiming  "  Ou!  ou!  "  three 
or  four  times,  while  he  poured  his  money  on  the  counter  with 
a  great  noise.  They  were  twenty-five  crowns  in  giulios;  and 
he  fancied  that  mine  would  be  four  or  five  crowns  di  moneta.^ 
I  for  my  part,  stunned  and  stifled  by  his  cries,  and  by  the  looks 
and  smiles  of  the  bystanders,  first  peeped  into  my  packet; 
then,  after  seeing  that  it  contained  nothing  but  gold,  I  retired 
to  one  end  of  the  counter,  and,  keeping  my  eyes  lowered  and 
making  no  noise  at  all,  I  lifted  it  with  both  hands  suddenly 
above  my  head,  and  emptied  it  like  a  mill  hopper.  My  coin 
was  twice  as  much  as  his;  which  caused  the  onlookers,  who 
had  fixed  their  eyes  on  me  with  some  derision,  to  turn  round 
suddenly  to  him  and  say:  "  Lucagnolo,  Benvenuto's  pieces, 
being  all  of  gold  and  twice  as  many  as  yours,  make  a  far  finer 
effect."  I  thought  for  certain  that,  what  with  jealousy  and 
what  with  shame,  Lucagnolo  would  have  fallen  dead  upon 
the  spot;  and  though  he  took  the  third  part  of  my  gain,  since 
I  was  a  journeyman  (for  such  is  the  custom  of  the  trade,  two- 
thirds  fall  to  the  workman  and  one-third  to  the  masters  of  the 
shop),  yet  inconsiderate  envy  had  more  power  in  him  than 

'  The  giulio  was  a  silver  coin  worth  56  Italian  centimes.  The  scudi  di 
tnoneta  was  worth  10  giulios.  Cellini  was  paid  in  golden  crowns,  which 
had  a  much  higher  value. 


MEMOIRS 


33 


avarice:  it  ought  indeed  to  have  worked  quite  the  other  way, 
he  being  a  peasant's  son  from  lesi.  He  cursed  his  art  and 
those  who  taught  it  him,  vowing  that  thenceforth  he  would 
never  work  at  large  plate,  but  give  his  whole  attention  to  those 
gewgaws,  since  they  were  so  well  paid.  Equally  enraged  on 
my  side,  I  answered  that  every  bird  sang  its  own  note;  that 
he  talked  after  the  fashion  of  the  hovels  he  came  from;  but 
that  I  dared  swear  that  I  should  succeed  with  ease  in  making 
his  lubberly  lumber,  while  he  would  never  be  successful  in 
my  gewgaws.  Thus  I  flung  off  in  a  passion,  telling  him  that  I 
would  soon  show  him  that  I  spoke  truth.  The  bystanders 
openly  declared  against  him,  holding  him  for  a  lout,  as  indeed 
he  was,  and  me  for  a  man,  as  I  had  proved  myself. 

XXII 

Next  day,  I  went  to  thank  Madonna  Porzia,  and  told  her 
that  her  ladyship  had  done  the  opposite  of  what  she  said  she 
would;  for  that  while  I  wanted  to  make  the  devil  laugh,  she 
had  made  him  once  more  deny  God.  We  both  laughed  pleas- 
antly at  this,  and  she  gave  me  other  commissions  for  fine  and 
substantial  work. 

-  Meanwhile,  I  contrived,  by  means  of  a  pupil  of  Rafifaello  da 
Urbino,  to  get  an  order  from  the  Bishop  of  Salamanca  for  one 
of  those  great  water-vessels  called  acquereccia,  which  are  used 
for  ornaments  to  place  on  sideboards.  He  wanted  a  pair  made 
of  equal  size;  and  one  of  them  he  intrusted  to  Lucagnolo,  the 
other  to  me.  Giovan  Francesco,  the  painter  I  have  mentioned, 
gave  us  the  design.  Accordingly  I  set  hand  with  marvellous 
good-will  to  this  piece  of  plate,  and  was  accommodated  with 
a  part  of  his  workshop  by  a  Milanese  named  Maestro  Giovan 
Piero  della  Tacca.  Having  made  my  preparations,  I  calcu- 
lated how  much  money  I  should  need  for  certain  affairs  of 
my  own,  and  sent  all  the  rest  to  assist  my  poor  father. 

It  so  happened  that  just  when  this  was  being  paid  to  him  in 
Florence,  he  stumbled  upon  one  of  those  Radicals  who  were 
in  the  Eight  at  the  time  when  I  got  into  that  little  trouble 
there.  It  was  the  very  man  who  had  abused  him  so  rudely, 
and  who  swore  that  I  should  certainly  be  sent  into  the  country 
with  the  lances.  Now  this  fellow  had  some  sons  of  very  bad 
morals  and  repute;  wherefore  my  father  said  to  him:  "  Mis- 
fortunes can  happen  to  anybody,  especially  to  men  of  choleric 
3 


34 


CELLINI 


humour  when  they  are  in  the  right,  even  as  it  happened  to  my 

son;  but  let  the  rest  of  his  hfe  bear  witness  how  virtuously  I 

have  brought  him  up.     Would  God,  for  your  well-being,  that 

your  sons  may  act  neither  worse  nor  better  toward  you  than 

mine  do  to  me.     God  rendered  me  able  to  bring  them  up  as  I 

have  done;  and  where  my  own  power  could  not  reach,  'twas 

He  who  rescued  them,  against  your  expectation,  out  of  your 

violent  hands."     On  leaving  the  man,  he  wrote  me  all  this 

story,  begging  me  for  God's  sake  to  practise  music  at  times, 

in  order  that  I  might  not  lose  the  fine  accomplishment  which 

he  had  taught  me  with  such  trouble.    The  letter  so  overflowed 

with  expressions  of  the  tenderest  fatherly  affection,  that  I  was 

moved  to  tears  of  filial  piety,  resolving,  before  he  died,  to 

gratify  him  amply  with  regard  to  music.     Thus  God  grants 

us  those  lawful  blessings  which  we  ask   in  prayer,   nothing 

doubting. 

XXIII 

While  I  was  pushing  forward  Salamanca's  vase,  I  had  only 
one  little  boy  as  help,  whom  I  had  taken  at  the  .entreaty  of 
friends,  and  half  against  my  own  will,  to  be  my  workman. 
He  was  about  fourteen  years  of  age,  bore  the  name  of  Paulino, 
and  was  son  to  a  Roman  burgess,  who  lived  upon  the  income 
of  his  property.  Paulino  was  the  best-mannered,  the  most 
honest,  and  the  most  beautiful  boy  I  ever  saw  in  my  whole 
life.  His  modest  ways  and  actions,  together  with  his  superla- 
tive beauty  and  his  devotion  to  myself,  bred  in  me  as  great 
an  afifection  for  him  as  a  man's  breast  can  hold.  This  passion- 
ate love  led  mc  oftentimes  to  delight  the  lad  with  music;  for 
I  observed  that  his  marvellous  features,  which  by  complexion 
wore  a  tone  of  modest  melancholy,  brightened  up,  and  when 
I  took  my  cornet,  broke  into  a  smile  so  lovely  and  so  sweet, 
that  I  do  not  marvel  at  the  silly  stories  which  the  Greeks  liave 
written  about  the  deities  of  heaven.  Indeed,  if  my  boy  had 
lived  in  those  times,  he  would  probably  have  turned  their 
heads  still  more.  He  had  a  sister,  named  Faustina,  more 
beautiful,  I  verily  believe,  than  that  Faustina  about  whom  the 
old  books  gossip  so.  Sometimes  he  took  me  to  their  vine- 
yard, and.  so  far  as  I  could  judge,  it  struck  me  that  Paulino's 
good  father  would  have  welcomed  me  as  a  son-in-law.  This 
affair  led  me  to  play  more  than  I  was  used  to  do. 

It  happened  at  thsit  time  that  one  Giangiacomo  of  Cesena, 


MEMOIRS 


35 


a  musician  in  the  Pope's  band,  and  a  very  excellent  performer, 
sent  word  through  Lorenzo,  the  trumpeter  of  Lucca,  who  is 
now  in  our  Uuke's  service,  to  inquire  whether  1  was  inclined 
to  help  thenr  at  the  Pope's  Ferragosto,  playing  sojjrano  with 
my  cornet  in  some  motets  of  great  beauty  selected  by  them 
for  that  occasion.^  Although  1  had  the  greatest  desire  to 
finish  the  vase  I  had  begun,  yet,  since  music  has  a  wondrous 
charm  of  its  own,  and  also  because  1  wished  to  please  my  old 
father,  I  consented  to  join  them.  During  eight  days  before 
the  festival  we  practised  two  hours  a  day  together;  then  on 
the  first  of  August  we  went  to  th^  Belvedere,  and  while  Pope 
Clement  was  at  table,  vve  played  those  carefully  studied  motets 
so  well  that  his  Holiness  protested  he  had  never  heard  music 
more  sweetly  executed  or  with  better  harmony  of  parts.  He 
sent  for  Giangiacomo,  and  asked  him  where  and  how  he  had 
procured  so  excellent  a  cornet  for  soprano,  and  inc[uired  par- 
ticularly who  I  was.  Giangiacomo  told  him  my  name  in  full. 
Whereupon  the  Pope  said:  "  So,  then,  he  is  the  son  of  Maestro 
Giovanni?"  On  being  assured  I  was,  the  Pope  expressed 
his  wish  to  have  me  in  his  service  with  the  other  bandsmen. 
Giangiacomo  replied:  "  Most  blessed  Father,  I  can  not  pre- 
tend for  certain  that  you  will  get  him,  for  his  profession,  to 
which  he  devotes  himself  assiduously,  is  that  of  a  goldsmith, 
and  he  works  in  it  miraculously  well,  and  earns  by  it  far  more 
than  he  could  do  by  playing."  To  this  the  Pope  added:  "  I 
am  the  better  inclined  to  him  now  that  I  find  him  possessor 
of  a  talent  more  than  I  expected.  See  that  he  obtains  the 
same  salary  as  the  rest  of  you;  and  tell  him  from  me  to  join 
my  service,  and  that  I  will  find  work  enough  by  the  day  for 
him  to  do  in  his  other  trade."  Then  stretching  out  his  hand, 
he  gave  him  a  hundred  golden  crowns  of  the  Camera  in  a 
handkerchief,  and  said:-  "Divide  these  so  that  he  may  take 
his  share." 

When  Giangiacomo  left  the  Pope,  he  came  to  us,  and 
related  in  detail  all  that  the  Pope  had  said ;  and  after  dividing 
the  money  between  the  eight  of  us,  and  giving  me  my  share, 
he  said  to  me:  "Now  I  am  going  to  have  you  inscribed 
among  our  company."  I  replied:  "Let  the  day  pass;  to- 
morrow I  will  give  my  answer."     When  I  left  them,  I  went 

'  The   Ferragosto  or  Feriae  Augusti   was  a  festival  upon   the  first  of 
August.  *  The  Camera  Apostolica  was  the  Roman  Exchequer. 


36  CELLINI 

meditating  whether  I  ought  to  accept  the  invitation,  inasmuch 
as  I  could  not  but  suffer  if  I  abandoned  the  noble  studies  of 
my  art.  The  following  night  my  father  appeared  to  me  in  a 
dream,  and  begged  me  with  tears  of  tenderest  affection,  for 
God's  love  and  his,  to  enter  upon  this  engagement.  Me- 
thought  I  answered  that  nothing  would  induce  me  to  do  so. 
In  an  instant  he  assumed  so  horrible  an  aspect  as  to  frighten 
me  out  of  my  wits,  and  cried:  "  If  you  do  not,  you  will  have 
a  father's  curse;  but  if  you  do,  may  you  be-  ever  blessed  by 
me!"  When  I  woke,  T  ran,  for  very  fright,  to  have  myself 
inscribed.  Then  I  wrote  to  my  old  father,  telling  him  the 
news,  which  so  affected  him  with  extreme  joy  that  a  sudden 
fit  of  illness  took  him,  and  well-nigh  brought  him  to  death's 
door.  In  his  answer  to  my  letter,  he  told  me  that  he  too  had 
dreamed  nearly  the  same  as  I  had. 

XXIV 

Knowing  now  that  I  had  gratified  my  father's  honest  wish, 
I  began  to  think  that  everything  would  prosper  with  me  to  a 
glorious  and  honourable  end.  Accordingly,  I  set  myself  with 
indefatigable  industry  to  the  completion  of  the  vase  I  had 
begun  for  Salamanca.  That  prelate  was  a  very  extraordinary 
man,  extremely  rich,  but  difficult  to  please.  He  sent  daily  to 
learn  what  I  was  doing;  and  when  his  messenger  did  not  find 
me  at  home,  he  broke  into  fury,  saying  that  he  would  take  the 
work  out  of  my  hands  and  give  it  to  others  to  finish.  This 
came  of  my  slavery  to  that  accursed  music.  Still  I  laboured 
diligently  night  and  day,  until,  when  I  had  brought  my  work 
to  a  point  when  it  could  be  exhibited,  I  submitted  it  to  the  in- 
spection of  the  Bishop.  This  so  increased  his  desire  to  see  it 
finished,  that  I  was  sorry  I  had  shown  it.  At  the  end  of  three 
months  I  had  it  ready,  with  little  animals  and  foliage  and 
masks,  as  beautiful  as  one  could  hope  to  see.  No  sooner  was 
it  done  than  I  sent  it  by  the  hand  of  my  workman,  Paulino, 
to  show  that  able  artist  Lucagnolo,  of  whom  I  have  spoken 
above.  Paulino,  with  the  grace  and  beauty  which  belonged 
to  him,  spoke  as  follows:  "  Messer  Lucagnolo,  Bcnvenuto 
bids  me  say  that  he  has  sent  to  show  you  his  promises  and 
your  lumber,  expecting  in  return  to  see  from  you  his  gew- 
gaws." This  message  given,  Lucagnolo  took  up  the  vase,  and 
carefully  examined  it;  then  he  said  to  Paulino:  "Fair  boy, 


MEMOIRS  37 

tell  your  master  that  he  is  a  great  and  able  artist,  and  that  I 
beg  him  to  be  willing  to  have  me  for  a  friend,  and  not  to 
engage  in  aught  else."  The  mission  of  that  virtuous  and 
marvellous  lad  caused  me  the  greatest  joy ;  and  then  the  vase 
was  carried  to  Salamanca,  who  ordered  it  to  be  valued. 
Lucagnolo  took  part  in  the  valuation,  estimating  and  praising 
it  far  above  my  own  opinion.  Salamanca,  lifting  up  the  vase, 
cried  like  a  true  Spaniard:  "  I  swear  by  God  that  1  will  take 
as  long  in  paying  him  as  he  has  lagged  in  making  it."  When 
I  heard  this,  I  was  exceedingly  put  out,  and  fell  to  cursing  all 
Spain  and  every  one  who  wished  well  to  it. 

Amongst  other  beautiful  ornaments,  this  vase  had  a  handle, 
made  all  of  one  piece,  with  most  delicate  mechanism,  which, 
when  a  spring  was  touched,  stood  upright  above  the  mouth 
of  it.  'while  the  prelate  was  one  day  ostentatiously  exhibiting 
my  vase  to  certain  Spanish  gentlemen  of  his  suite,  it  chanced 
that  one  of  them,  upon  Monsignor's  quitting  the  room,  began 
roughly  to  work  the  handle,  and  as  the  gentle  spring  which 
moved  it  could  not  bear  his  loutish  violence,  it  broke  in  his 
hand.  Aware  what  mischief  he  had  done,  he  begged  the 
butler  who  had  charge  of  the  Bishop's  plate  to  take  it  to  the 
master  who  had  made  it,  for  him  to  mend,  and  promised  to 
pay  what  price  he  asked,  provided  it  was  set  to  rights  at  once. 
So  the  vase  cam.e  once  more  into  my  hands,  and  I  promised 
to  put  it  forthwith  in  order,  which  indeed  I  did.  It  was 
brought  to  me  before  dinner;  and  at  tw-enty-two  o'clock  the 
man  who  brought  it  returned,  all  in  a  sweat,  for  he  had  run 
the  whole  way,  Monsignor  having  again  asked  for  it  to  show 
to  certain  other  gentlemen.^  The  butler,  then,  without  giving 
me  time  to  utter  a  word,  cried:  "  Quick,  quick,  bring  the 
vase."  I,  who  wanted  to  act  at  leisure  and  not  to  give  it  up 
to  him.  said  that  I  did  not  mean  to  be  so  quick.  The  serving- 
man  got  into  such  a  rage  that  he  made  as  though  he  would 
put  one  hand  to  his  sword,  while  with  the  other  he  threatened 
to  break  the  shop  open.     To  this  I  put  a  stop  at  once  with 

'  The  Italians  reckoned  time  from  sundown  till  sundown,  counting 
twenty-four  hours.  Twenty-two  o'clock  was  therefore  two  hours  before 
nightfall.  One  hour  of  the  night  was  one  hour  after  nightfall,  and  so 
forth.  By  this  system  of  reckoning,  it  is  clear  that  the  hours  varied  with 
the  season  of  the  year  ;  and  unless  we  know  the  exact  month  in  which 
an  event  took  place,  we  can  not  translate  any  hour  into  terms  of  our  own 
system. 

134065 


38 


CELLINI 


my  own  weapon,  using  therewith  spirited  language,  and  say- 
ing: "  I  am  not  going  to  give  it  to  you!  Go  and  tell  Mon- 
signor,  your  master,  that  I  want  the  money  for  my  work  before 
I  let  it  leave  this  shop."  When  the  fellow  saw  he  could  not 
obtain  it  by  swaggering,  he  fell  to  praying  me,  as  one  prays 
to  the  Cross,  declaring  that  if  I  would  only  give  it  up,  he  would 
take  care  I  should  be  paid.  These  words  did  not  make  me 
swerve  from  my  purpose;  but  I  kept  on  saying  the  same 
thing.  At  last,  despairing  of  success,  he  swore  to  come  with 
Spaniards  enough  to  cut  me  in  pieces.  Then  he  took  to  his 
heels;  while  I,  who  inclined  to  believe  partly  in  their  murder- 
ous attack,  resolved  that  I  would  defend  myself  with  courage. 
So  I  got  an  admirable  little  gun  ready,  which  I  used  for  shoot- 
ing game,  and  muttered  to  myself:  "  He  who  robs  me  of  my 
property  and  labour  may  take  my  life  too,  and  welcome," 
While  I  was  carrying  on  this  debate  in  my  own  mind,  a  crowd 
of  Spaniards  arrived,  led  by  their  major-domo,  who,  with  the 
headstrong  rashness  of  his  race,  bade  them  go  in  and  take  the 
vase  and  give  me  a  good  beating.  Hearing  these  words,  I 
showed  them  the  muzzle  of  my  gun,  and  prepared  to  fire,  and 
cried  in  a  loud  voice:  "  Renegade  Jews,  traitors,  is  it  thus  that 
one  breaks  into  houses  and  shops  in  our  city  of  Rome?  Come 
as  many  of  you  thieves  as  like,  an  inch  nearer  to  this  wicket, 
and  I'll  blow  all  their  brains  out  with  my  gun."  Then  I  turned 
the  muzzle  toward  their  major-domo,  and  making  as  though 
I  would  discharge  it,  called  out:  "  And  you  big  thief,  who  are 
egging  them  on,  I  mean  to  kill  you  first."  He  clapped  spurs 
to  the  jennet  he  was  riding,  and  took  flight  headlong.  The 
conmiotion  we  were  making  stirred  up  all  the  neighbours, 
who  came  crowding  round,  together  with  some  Roman  gentle- 
men who  chanced  to  pass,  and  cried:  "  Do  but  kill  the  rene- 
gades, and  we  will  stand  by  you."  These  words  had  the  effect 
of  frightening  the  Spaniards  in  good  earnest.  They  with- 
drew, and  were  compelled  by  the  circumstances  to  relate  the 
whole  affair  to  Monsignor.  Being  a  man  of  inordinate 
haughtiness,  he  rated  the  members  of  his  household,  both 
because  they  had  engaged  in  such  an  act  of  violence,  and  also 
because,  having  begun,  they  had  not  gone  through  with  it. 
At  this  juncture  the  painter,  who  had  been  concerned  in  the 
whole  matter,  came  in,  and  the  Bishop  bade  him  go  and  tell  me 
that  if  I  did  not  bring  the  vase  at  once,  he  would  make  mince- 


II 


MEMOIRS 


39 


meat  of  me;  but  if  1  brought  it,  lie  would  pay  its  price  down. 
These  threats  were  so  far  from  terrifying  me,  that  1  sent  him 
word  I  was  going  immediately  to  lay  my  case  before  the  Pope. 
In  the  meantime,  his  anger  and  my  fear  subsided;  where- 
upon, being  guaranteed  by  some  Roman  noblemen  of  high 
degree  that  the  prelate  would  not  harm  me,  and  having  assur- 
ance that  I  should  be  paid,  I  armed  myself  with  a  large  poniard 
and  my  good  coat  of  nuiil,  and  l)ctocjk  myself  to  his  palace, 
where  he  had  drawn  up  all  his  household.  I  entered,  and 
Paulino  followed  with  the  silver  vase.  It  was  just  like  passing 
through  the  Zodiac,  neither  more  nor  less;  for  one  of  them 
had  the'face  of  the  lion,  another  of  the  scorpion,  a  third  of 
the  crab.  However,  we  passed  onward  to  the  presence  of  the 
rascally  priest,  who  spouted  out  a  torrent  of  such  language 
as  only  priests  and  Spaniards  have  at  their  command.  In  re- 
turn I  never  raised  my  eyes  to  look  at  him,  nor  answered  word 
for  word.  That  seemed  to  augment  the  fury  of  his  anger;  and 
causing  paper  to  be  put  before  me,  he  commanded  me  to 
write  an  acknowledgment  to  the  effect  that  I  had  been  amply 
satisfied  and  paid  in  full.  Then  I  raised  my  head,  and  said  I 
should  be  very  glad  to  do  so  when  I  had  received  the  money. 
The  Bishop's  rage  continued  to  rise;  threats  and  recrimina- 
tions were  flung  about;  but  at  last  the  money  was  paid,  and 
I  wrote  the  receipt.  Then  I  departed,  glad  at  heart  and  in 
high  spirits. 

XXV 

When  Pope  Clement  heard  the  story — he  had  seen  the  vase 
before,  but  it  was  not  shown  him  as  my  w'ork — he  expressed 
much  pleasure  and  spoke  warmly  in  my  praise,  publicly  saying 
that  he  felt  very  favourably  toward  me.  This  caused  Mon- 
signor  Salamanca  to  repent  that  he  had  hectored  over  me; 
and  in  order  to  make  up  our  quarrel,  he  sent  the  same  painter 
to  inform  me  that  he  meant  to  give  me  large  commissions.  I 
replied  that  I  was  willing  to  undertake  them,  but  that  I  should 
require  to  be  paid  in  advance.  This  speech  too  came  to  Pope 
Clement's  ears,  and  made  him  laugh  heartily.  Cardinal  Cibo 
was  in  the  presence,  and  the  Pope  narrated  to  him  the  whole 
history  of  my  dispute  with  the  Bishop.^     Then  he  turned  to 

'  Innocenzio  Cibo  Malaspina,  Archbishop  of  Genoa,  and  nephew  of 
Lorenzo  de'  Medici.  He  was  a  prelate  of  vast  wealth  and  a  great  patron 
of  arts  and  letters. 


40  CELLINI 

one  of  liis  people,  and  ordered  him  to  go  on  supplying  me 
with  work  for  the  palace.  Cardinal  Cibo  sent  for  me,  and 
after  some  time  spent  in  agreeable  conversation,  gave  me  the 
order  for  a  large  vase,  bigger  than  Salamanca's.  I  likewise 
obtained  commissions  from  Cardinal  Cornaro,  and  many 
others  of  the  Holy  College,  especially  Ridolfi  and  Salviati; 
they  all  kept  me  well  employed,  so  that  I  earned  plenty  of 
money. ^ 

Madonna  Porzia  now  advised  me  to  open  a  shop  of  my 
own.  This  I  did;  and  I  never  stopped  working  for  that  ex- 
cellent and  gentle  lady,  who  paid  me  exceedingly  well,  and 
by  whose  means  perhaps  it  was  that  I  came  to  make  a  figure 
in  the  world. 

I  contracted  close  friendship  w'ith  Signor  Gabbriello  Ce- 
serino,  at  that  time  Gonfalonier  of  Rome,  and  executed  many 
pieces  for  him.  One,  among  the  rest,  is  worthy  of  mention. 
It  was  a  large  golden  medal  to  wear  in  the  hat.  I  engraved 
upon  it  Leda  with  her  swan ;  and  being  very  well  pleased  with 
the  workmanship,  he  said  he  should  like  to  have  it  valued,  in 
order  that  I  might  be  properly  paid.  Now,  since  the  medal 
was  executed  with  consummate  skill,  the  valuers  of  the  trade 
set  a  far  higher  price  on  it  than  he  had  thought  of.  I  there- 
fore kept  the  medal,  and  got  nothing  for  my  pains.  The  same 
sort  of  adventures  happened  in  this  case  as  in  that  of  Sala- 
manca's vase.  But  I  shall  pass  such  matters  briefly  by,  lest 
they  hinder  me  from  telling  things  of  greater  importance. 

XXVI 

Since  I  am  writing  my  life,  I  must  from  time  to  time  di- 
verge from  my  profession  in  order  to  describe  with  brevity, 
if  not  in  detail,  some  incidents  which  have  no  bearing  on  my 
career  as  artist.  On  the  morning  of  Saint  John's  Day  I  hap- 
pened to  be  dining  with  several  men  of  our  nation,  painters, 
sculptors,  goldsmiths,  amongst  the  most  notable  of  whom 
was  Rosso  and  Gianfrancesco,  the  pupil  of  RafTaello.^  I  had 
invited  them  without  restraint  or  ceremony  to  the  place  of  our 

'  Marco  Cornaro  was  a  brother  of  Caterina,  the  Queen  of  Cyprus.  He 
obtained  the  hat  in  1492.  Niccolo  Ridolfi  was  a  nephew  of  Leo  X.  Gio- 
vanni Salviati  was  also  a  nephew  of  Leo  X,   who  gave  him  the  hat  in 

1517. 

'  St.  John's  Day  was  the  great  Florentine  Festival,  on  which  all  the 
Guilds  went  in  procession  with  pageants  through  the  city. 


MEMOIRS 


4T 


meeting;  and  they  were  all  laughing  and  joking,  as  is  natural 
when  a  crowd  of  men  come  together  to  make  merry  on  so 
great  a  festival.  It  chanced  that  a  light-brained  swaggering 
young  fellow  passed  by;  he  was  a  soldier  of  Rienzo  da  Ceri, 
who,  when  he  heard  the  noise  that  we  were  making,  gave  vent 
to  a  string  of  opprobrious  sarcasms  upon  the  folk  of  Plor- 
ence.^  I,  who  was  the  host  of  those  great  artists  and  men  of 
worth,  taking  the  insult  to  myself,  slipped  out  quietly  without 
being  observed,  and  went  up  to  him.  I  ought  to  say  that  he 
had  a  woman  of  his  there,  and  was  going  on  with  his  stupid 
ribaldries  to  amuse  her.  When  I  met  him,  I  asked  if  he  was 
the  rash  fellow  who  was  speaking  evil  of  the  Florentines.  He 
answered  at  once:  "  I  am  that  man."  On  this  I  raised  my 
hand,  struck  him  in  the  face,  and  said:  "  And  I  am  this  man." 
Then  we  each  of  us  drew  our  swords  with  spirit;  but  the  fray 
had  hardly  begun  when  a  crowd  of  persons  intervened,  who 
rather  took  my  part  than  not,  hearing  and  seeing  that  I  was 
in  the  right. 

On  the  following  day  a  challenge  to  fight  with  him  was 
brought  me,  which  I  accepted  very  gladly,  saying  that  I  ex- 
pected to  complete  this  job  far  quicker  than  those  of  the 
other  art  I  practised.  So  I  went  at  once  to  confer  with  a  fine 
old  man  called  Bevilacqua,  who  was  reputed  to  have  been 
the  first  sword  of  Italy,  because  he  had  fought  more  than 
twenty  serious  duels  and  had  always  come  ofif  with  honour. 
This  excellent  man  was  a  great  friend  of  mine;  he  knew  me 
as  an  artist,  and  had  also  been  concerned  as  intermediary  in 
certain  ugly  quarrels  between  me  and  others.  Accordingly, 
when  he  had  learned  my  business,  he  answered  with  a  smile: 
"  My  Benvenuto,  if  you  had  an  aflfair  with  Mars,  I  am  sure 
you  would  come  out  with  honour,  because  through  all  the 
years  that  I  have  known  you,  I  have  never  seen  you  wrong- 
fully take  up  a  quarrel."  So  he  consented  to  be  my  second, 
and  we  repaired  with  sword  in  hand  to  the  appointed  place; 
but  no  blood  was  shed,  for  my  opponent  made  the  matter  up, 
and  I  came  with  much  credit  out  of  the  affair.  I  will  not  add 
further  particulars ;  for  though  they  would  be  very  interesting 

'  This  Rienzo,  Renzo,  or  Lorenzo  da  Ceri,  was  a  captain  of  adventurers 
or  Condottiere,  who  hired  his  mercenary  forces  to  paymasters.  He  de- 
fended Crema  for  the  Venetians  in  1514,  and  conquered  Urbino  for  the 
Pope  in  1515.     Afterward  he  fought  for  the  French  in  the  Italian  wars. 


42  CELLINI 

in  their  own  way,  I  wisli  to  keep  both  space  and  words  for 
my  art,  which  has  been  my  chief  inducement  to  write  as  I  am 
doing,  and  about  which  I  shall  have  only  too  much  to  say. 

The  spirit  of  honourable  rivalry  impelled  me  to  attempt 
some  other  masterpiece,  which  should  equal,  or  even  surpass, 
the  productions  of  that  able  craftsman,  Lucagnolo,  whom  I 
have  mentioned.  Still  I  did  not  on  this  account  neglect  my 
own  fine  art  of  jewellery;  and  so  both  the  one  and  the  other 
wrought  me  much  profit  and  more  credit,  and  in  both  of  them 
I  continued  to  produce  things  of  marked  originality.  There 
was  at  that  time  in  Rome  a  very  able  artist  of  Perugia  named 
Lautizio,  who  worked  only  in  one  department,  where  he  was 
sole  and  unrivalled  throughout  the  world.  You  must  know 
that  at  Rome  every  cardinal  has  a  seal,  upon  which  his  title  is 
engraved,  and  these  seals  are  made  just  as  large  as  a  child's 
hand  of  about  twelve  years  of  age;  and,  as  I  have  already 
said,  the  cardinal's  title  is  engraved  upon  the  seal  together 
with  a  great  many  ornamental  figures.  A  well-made  article  of 
the  kind  fetches  a  hundred,  or  more  than  a  hundred  crowns. 
This  excellent  workman,  like  Lucagnolo,  roused  in  me  some 
honest  rivalry,  although  the  art  he  practised  is  far  remote 
from  the  other  branches  of  gold-smithery,  and  consequently 
Lautizio  was  not  skilled  in  making  anything  but  seals.  I  gave 
my  mind  to  acquiring  his  craft  also,  although  I  found  it  very 
difficult;  and,  unrepelled  by  the  trouble  which  it  gave  me,  I 
went  on  zealously  upon  the  path  of  profit  and  improvement. 

There  was  in  Rome  another  most  excellent  craftsman  of 
ability,  who  was  a  Milanese  named  Messcr  Caradosso.  He 
dealt  in  nothing  but  little  chiselled  medals,  made  of  plates  of 
metal,  and  such-like  things.  I  have  seen  of  his  some  paxes 
in  half  relief,  and  some  Christs  a  palm  in  length  wrought  of 
the  thinnest  golden  plates,  so  exquisitely  done  that  I  esteemed 
him  the  greatest  master  in  that  kind  I  had  ever  seen,  and 
envied  him  more  than  all  the  rest  together.  There  were  also 
other  masters  who  worked  at  medals  carved  in  steel,  which 
may  be  called  the  models  and  true  guides  for  those  who  aim 
at  striking  coins  in  the  most  perfect  style.  All  these  divers 
arts  I  set  myself  with  unflagging  industry  to  learn. 

T  must  not  omit  the  exquisite  art  of  enamelling,  in  which 
I  have  never  known  any  one  excel  save  a  Florentine,  our 
countryman,  called  Amerigo.     I  did  not  know  him,  but  was 


MEMOIRS 


43 


well  acquainted  with  his  incomparable  masterpieces.  Noth- 
ing in  any  part  of  the  world  or  by  any  craftsman  that  1  have 
seen,  approached  the  divine  beauty  of  their  workmanship. 
To  this  branch  too  I  devoted  myself  with  all  my  strength, 
although  it  is  extremely  difficult,  chiefly  because  of  the  fire, 
which,  after  long  time  and  trouble  spent  in  other  processes, 
has  to  be  applied  at  last,  and  not  unfrequently  brings  the  whole 
to  ruin.  Jn  spite  of  its  great  difficulties,  it  gave  me  so  much 
pleasure  that  I  looked  upon  them  as  recreation;  and  this 
came  from  the  special  gift  which  the  God  of  nature  bestowed 
on  me,  that  is  to  say,  a  temperament  so  happy  and  of  such 
excellent  parts  that  I  was  freely  able  to  accomplish  whatever 
it  pleased  me  to  take  in  hand.  The  various  departments  of 
art  which  I  have  described  are  very  different  one  from  the 
other,  so  that  a  man  who  excels  in  one  of  them,  if  he  under- 
takes the  others,  hardly  ever  achieves  the  same  success; 
whereas  I  strove  with  all  my  power  to  become  equally  versed 
in  all  of  them:  and  in  the  proper  place  I  shall  demonstrate 
that  I  attained  my  object. 

XXVII 

At  that  time,  w'hile  I  was  still  a  young  man  of  about 
twenty-three,  there  raged  a  plague  of  such  extraordinary  vio- 
lence that  many  thousands  died  of  it  every  day  in  Rome. 
Somewhat  terrified  at  this  calamity,  I  began  to  take  certain 
amusements,  as  my  mind  suggested,  and  for  a  reason  which 
I  will  presently  relate.  I  had  formed  a  habit  of  going  on 
feast-days  to  the  ancient  buildings,  and  copying  parts  of  them 
in  wax  or  with  the  pencil;  and  since  these  buildings  are  all 
ruins,  and  the  ruins  house  innumerable  pigeons,  it  came  into 
my  head  to  use  my  gun  against  these  birds.  So  then,  avoiding 
all  commerce  with  people,  in  my  terror  of  the  plague,  I  used 
to  put  a  fowling-piece  on  my  boy  Pagolino's  shoulder,  and 
he  and  I  went  out  alone  into  the  ruins;  and  oftentimes  we 
came  home  laden  with  a  cargo  of  the  fattest  pigeons.  I  did 
not  care  to  charge  my  gun  with  more  than  a  single  ball;  and 
thus  it  was  by  pure  skill  in  the  art  that  I  filled  such  heavy  bags. 
I  had  a  fowling-piece  which  I  had  made  myself;  inside  and 
out  it  was  as  bright  as  any  mirror.  T  also  used  to  make  a  very 
fine  sort  of  powder,  in  doing  which  I  discovered  secret  pro- 
cesses, beyond  any  which  have  yet  been  found;  and  on  this 


44 


CELLINI 


point,  in  order  to  be  brief,  I  will  give  but  one  particular,  which 
will  astonish  good  shots  of  every  degree.  This  is,  that  when 
I  charged  my  gun  with  powder  weighing  one-fifth  of  the  ball, 
it  carried  two  hundred  paces  point-blank.  It  is  true  that  the 
great  delight  I  took  in  this  exercise  bid  fair  to  withdraw  me 
from  my  art  and  studies;  yet  in  another  way  it  gave  me  more 
than  it  deprived  me  of,  seeing  that  each  time  I  went  out  shoot- 
ing I  returned  with  greatly  better  health,  because  the  open  air 
was  a  benefit  to  my  constitution.  My  natural  temperament 
was  melancholy,  and  while  I  was  taking  these  amusements, 
my  heart  leapt  up  with  joy,  and  I  found  that  I  could  work 
better  and  with  far  greater  mastery  than  when  I  spent  my 
whole  time  in  study  and  manual  labour.  In  this  way  my 
gun,  at  the  end  of  the  game,  stood  me  more  in  profit  than 
in  loss. 

It  was  also  the  cause  of  my  making  acquaintance  with 
certain  hunters  after  curiosities,  who  followed  in  the  track 
of  those  Lombard  peasants  who  used  to  come  to  Rome  to 
till  the  vineyards  at  the  proper  season.  While  digging  the 
ground,  they  frequently  turned  up  antique  medals,  agates, 
chrysoprases,  cornelians,  and  cameos;  also  sometimes  jewels, 
as,  for  instance,  emeralds,  sapphires,  diamonds,  and  rubies. 
The  peasants  used  to  sell  things  of  this  sort  to  the  traders 
for  a  mere  trifle;  and  I  very  often,  when  I  met  them,  paid 
the  latter  several  times  as  many  golden  crowns  as  they  had 
given  giulios  for  some  object.  Independently  of  the  profit 
I  made  by  this  trafftc,  which  was  at  least  tenfold,  it  brought 
me  also  into  agreeable  relations  with  nearly  all  the  cardinals 
of  Rome.  I  will  only  touch  upon  a  few  of  the  most  notable 
and  rarest  of  these  curiosities.  There  came  into  my  hands, 
among  many  other  fragments,  the  head  of  a  dolphin  about  as 
big  as  a  good-sized  ballot-bean.  Not  only  was  the  style  of  this 
head  extremely  beautiful,  but  nature  had  here  far  surpassed 
art;  for  the  stone  was  an  emerald  of  such  good  colour,  that 
the  man  who  bought  it  from  me  for  tens  of  crowns  sold  it 
again  for  hundreds  after  setting  it  as  a  finger-ring.  I  will 
mention  another  kind  of  gem;  this  was  a  magnificent  topaz; 
and  here  art  equalled  nature;  it  was  as  large  as  a  big  hazel- 
nut, with  the  head  of  Minerva  in  a  style  of  inconceivable 
beauty.  I  remember  yet  another  precious  stone,  different  from 
these;  it  was  a  cameo,  engraved  with  Hercules  binding  Cer- 


MEMOIRS 


45 


berus  of  the  triple  throat;  such  was  its  beauty  and  the  skill  of 
its  workmanship,  that  our  great  Michel  Agnolo  protested  he 
had  never  seen  anything  so  wonderful.  Among  many  bronze 
medals,  I  obtained  one  upon  which  was  a  head  of  Jupiter. 
It  was  the  largest  that  had  ever  been  seen;  the  head  of 
the  most  perfect  execution;  and  it  had  on  the  reverse  side 
a  very  fine  design  of  some  little  figures  in  the  same  style. 
I  might  ^nlarge  at  great  length  on  this  curiosity;  but  I 
will  refrain  for  fear  of  being  prolix. 

XXVIII 

As  I  have  said  above,  the  plague  had  broken  out  in  Rome; 
but  though  I  must  return  a  little  way  upon  my  steps,  I  shall 
not  therefore  abandon  the  main  path  of  my  history.  There 
arrived  in  Rome  a  surgeon  of  the  highest  renown,  who  was 
called  Maestro  Giacomo  da  Carpi.  This  able  man,  in  the 
course  of  his  other  practice,  undertook  the  most  desperate 
cases  of  the  so-called  French  disease.  In  Rome  this  kind  of 
illness  is  very  partial  to  the  priests,  and  especially  to  the  rich- 
est of  them.  When,  therefore,  Maestro  Giacomo  had  made 
his  talents  known,  he  professed  to  work  miracles  in  the  treat- 
ment of  such  cases  by  means  of  certain  fumigations;  but  he 
only  undertook  a  cure  after  stipulating  for  his  fees,  which 
he  reckoned  not  by  tens,  but  by  hundreds  of  crowns.  He  was 
a  great  connoisseur  in  the  arts  of  design.  Chancing  to  pass 
one  day  before  my  shop,  he  saw  a  lot  of  drawings  which  I  had 
laid  upon  the  counter,  and  among  these  were  several  designs 
for  little  vases  in  a  capricious  style,  which  I  had  sketched  for 
my  amusement.  These  vases  were  in  quite  a  different  fashion 
from  any  which  had  been  seen  up  to  that  date.  He  was 
anxious  that  I  should  finish  one  or  two  of  them  for  him  in 
silver;  and  this  I  did  with  the  fullest  satisfaction,  seeing  they 
exactly  suited  my  own  fancy.  The  clever  surgeon  paid  me 
very  well,  and  yet  the  honour  which  the  vases  brought  me  was 
worth  a  hundred  times  as  much;  for  the  best  craftsmen  in  the 
goldsmith's  trade  declared  they  had  never  seen  anything  more 
beautiful  or  better  executed. 

No  sooner  had  I  finished  them  than  he  showed  them  to  the 
Pope;  and  the  next  day  following  he  betook  himself  away 
from  Rome.  He  was  a  man  of  much  learning,  who  used  to 
discourse  wonderfully  about  medicine.    The  Pope  would  fain 


46 


CELLINI 


have  had  him  in  his  service,  but  he  replied  that  he  would  not 
take  service  with  anybody  in  the  world,  and  that  whoso  had 
need  of  him  might  come  to  seek  him  out.  He  was  a  person 
of  great  sagacity,  and  did  wisely  to  get  out  of  Rome;  for  not 
many  months  afterward,  all  the  patients  he  had  treated  grew 
so  ill  that  they  were  a  hundred  times  worse  off  than  before 
he  came.  He  would  certainly  have  been  murdered  if  he  had 
stopped.  He  showed  my  little  vases  to  several  persons  of 
quality;  amongst  others,  to  the  most  excellent  Duke  of  Fer- 
rara,  and  pretended  that  he  had  got  them  from  a  great  lord  in 
Rome,  by  telling  this  nobleman  that  if  he  wanted  to  be  cured, 
he  must  give  him  those  two  vases;  and  that  the  lord  had 
answered  that  they  were  antique,  and  besought  him  to  ask  for 
anything  else  which  it  might  be  convenient  for  him  to  give, 
provided  only  he  would  leave  him  those;  but,  according  to 
his  own  account.  Maestro  Giacomo  made  as  though  he  would 
not  undertake  the  cure,  and  so  he  got  them. 

I  was  told  this  by  Messer  Alberto  Bendedio  in  Ferrara, 
who  with  great  ostentation  showed  me  some  earthenware 
copies  he  possessed  of  them.  Thereupon  I  laughed,  and  as  I 
said  nothing,  Messer  Alberto  Bendedio,  who  was  a  haughty 
man,  flew  into  a  rage  and  said:  "  You  are  laughing  at  them, 
are  you?  And  I  tell  you  that  during  the  last  thousand  years 
there  has  not  been  born  a  man  capable  of  so  much  as  copying 
them,"  I  then,  not  caring  to  deprive  them  of  so  eminent  a 
reputation,  kept  silence,  and  admired  them  with  mute  stupe- 
faction. It  was  said  to  me  in  Rome  by  many  great  lords, 
some  of  whom  were  my  friends,  that  the  work  of  which  I 
have  been  speaking  was,  in  their  opinion,  of  marvellous  ex- 
cellence and  genuine  antiquity;  whereupon,  emboldened  by 
their  praises,  I  revealed  that  I  had  made  them.  As  they  would 
not  believe  it,  and  as  I  wished  to  prove  that  I  had  spoken 
truth,  I  was  obliged  to  bring  evidence  and  to  make  new  draw- 
ings of  the  vases;  for  my  word  alone  was  not  enough,  inas- 
much as  Maestro  Giacomo  had  cunningly  insisted  upon  car- 
rying off  the  old  drawings  with  him.  By  this  little  job  I 
earned  a  fair  amount  of  money. 

XXIX 

The  plague  went  dragging  on  for  many  months,  but  I  had 
as  yet  managed  to  keep  it  at  bay;  for  though  several  of  my 


MEMOIRS 


47 


comrades  were  dead,  I  survived  in  health  and  freedom.  Now 
it  chanced  one  morning  that,  as  I  rose  upon  the  hour  of  break- 
ing fast,  I  felt  tired,  for  I  had  travelled  many  miles  that  night, 
and  was  wanting  to  take  food,  when  a  crushing  headache 
seized  me;  several  boils  appeared  on  my  left  arm,  together 
with  a  carbuncle  which  showed  itself  just  beyond  the  palm 
of  the  left  hand  where  it  joins  the  wrist.  Everybody  in  the 
house  was*  in  a  panic;  my  friend,  the  cow  and  the  calf,  all 
fled.  Left  alone  there  with  my  poor  little  prentice,  who  re- 
fused to  abandon  me,  I  felt  stifled  at  the  heart,  and  made  up 
my  mind  for  certain  I  was  a  dead  man. 

Just  then  the  father  of  the  lad  went  by,  who  was  physician 
to  the  Cardinal  lacoacci,  and  lived  as  member  of  that  prel- 
ate's household.  The  boy  called  out:  "  Come,  father,  and 
see  Benvenuto;  he  is  in  bed  with  some  trifling  indisposition." 
Without  thinking  what  my  complaint  might  be,  the  doctor 
came  up  at  once,  and  when  he  had  felt  my  pulse,  he  saw  and 
felt  what  was  very  contrary  to  his  own  wishes.  Turning 
round  to  his  son,  he  said:  "  O  traitor  of  a  child,  you've  ruined 
me;  how  can  I  venture  now  into  the  Cardinal's  presence?" 
His  son  made  answer:  "  Why,  father,  this  man  my  master  is 
worth  far  more  than  all  the  cardinals  in  Rome."  Then  the 
doctor  turned  to  me  and  said:  "  Since  I  am  here,  I  will  con- 
sent to  treat  you.  Considering  the  sores  are  so  new.  and  have 
not  yet  begun  to  stink,  and  that  the  remedies  will  be  taken  in 
time,  you  need  not  be  too  much  afraid,  for  I  have  good  hopes 
of  curing  you."  When  he  had  prescribed  for  me  and  gone 
away,  a  very  dear  friend  of  mine,  called  Giovanni  Rigogli, 
came  in,  and  fell  to  commiserating  my  great  suffering  and 
also  my  desertion  by  my  comrade,  and  said:  "Be  of  good 
cheer,  my  Benvenuto,  for  T  will  never  leave  your  side  until 
I  see  you  restored  to  health."  I  told  him  not  to  come  too 
close,  since  it  was  all  over  with  me.  Only  I  besought  him 
to  be  so  kind  as  to  take  a  considerable  quantity  of  crowns, 
which  were  lying  in  a  little  box  near  my  bed,  and  when  God 
had  thought  fit  to  remove  me  from  this  world,  to  send  them 
to  my  poor  father,  writing  pleasantly  to  him,  in  the  way  I 
too  had  done,  so  far  as  that  appalling  season  of  the  plague 
permitted.  My  beloved  friend  declared  that  he  had  no  inten- 
tion whatsoever  of  leaving  me,  and  that  come  what  might, 
in  life  or  death,  he  knew  very  well  what  was  his  duty  toward 


48  CELLINI 

a  friend.  And  so  we  went  on  by  the  help  of  God:  and  the 
admirable  remedies  which  I  had  used  began  to  work  a  great 
improvement,  and  I  soon  came  well  out  of  that  dreadful 
sickness. 

The  sore  was  still  open,  with  a  plug  of  lint  inside  it  and  a 
plaster  above,  when  I  went  out  riding  on  a  little  wild  pony. 
He  was  covered  with  hair  four  fingers  long,  and  was  exactly  as 
big  as  a  well-grown  bear;  indeed  he  looked  just  like  a  bear. 
I  rode  out  on  him  to  visit  the  painter  Rosso,  who  was  then  liv- 
ing in  the  country,  toward  Civita  Vecchia,  at  a  place  of  Count 
Anguillara's,  called  Cervetera.  I  found  my  friend,  and  he  was 
very  glad  to  see  me;  whereupon  I  said:  "  I  am  come  to  do  to 
you  that  which  you  did  to  me  so  many  months  ago."  He 
burst  out  laughing,  embraced  and  kissed  me,  and  begged  me 
for  the  Count's  sake  to  keep  quiet.  I  stayed  in  that  place 
about  a  month,  with  much  content  and  gladness,  enjoying 
good  wines  and  excellent  food,  and  treated  with  the  greatest 
kindness  by  the  Count;  every  day  I  used  to  ride  out  alone 
along  the  seashore,  where  I  dismounted,  and  filled  my  pockets 
with  all  sorts  of  pebbles,  snail  shells,  and  sea  shells  of  great 
rarity  and  beauty. 

On  the  last  day  (for  after  this  I  went  there  no  more)  I  was 
attacked  by  a  band  of  men,  who  had  disguised  themselves,  and 
disembarked  from  a  Moorish  privateer.  When  they  thought 
that  they  had  run  me  into  a  certain  passage,  where  it  seemed 
impossible  that  I  should  escape  from  their  hands,  I  suddenly 
mounted  my  pony,  resolved  to  be  roasted  or  boiled  alive  at 
that  pass  perilous,  seeing  I  had  little  hope  to  evade  one  or  the 
other  of  these  fates;  but,  as  God  willed,  my  pony,  who  was 
the  same  I  have  described  above,  took  an  incredibly  wide 
jump,  and  brought  me  ofT  in  safety,  for  which  I  heartily 
thanked  God.  I  told  the  story  to  the  Count;  he  ran  to  arms; 
but  we  saw  the  galleys  setting  out  to  sea.  The  next  day  fol- 
lowing I  went  back  sound  and  with  good  cheer  to  Rome. 

XXX 

The  plague  had  by  this  time  almost  died  out,  so  that  the 
survivors,  when  they  met  together  alive,  rejoiced  with  much 
delight  in  one  another's  company.  This  led  to  the  formation 
of  a  club  of  painters,  sculptors,  and  goldsmiths,  the  best  that 
were  in  Rome;  and  the  founder  of  it  was  a  sculptor  with  the 


MEMOIRS 


49 


name  of  Michel  Agnolo.^  He  was  a  Sienese  and  a  man  of 
great  ability,  who  could  hold  his  own  against  any  other  work- 
man in  that  art;  but,  above  all,  he  was  the  most  amusing  com- 
rade and  the  heartiest  good  fellow  in  the  universe.  Of  all  the 
members  of  the  club,  he  was  the  eldest,  and  yet  the  youngest 
from  the  strength  and  vigour  of  his  body.  We  often  came 
together;  ^t  the  very  least  twice  a  week.  I  must  not  omit 
to  mention  that  our  society  counted  Giulio  Romano,  the 
painter,  and  Gian  Francesco,  both  of  them  celebrated  pupils 
of  the  mighty  Rafifaello  da  Urbino. 

After  many  and  many  merry  meetings,  it  seemed  good  to 
our  worthy  president  that  for  the  following  Sunday  we  should 
repair  to  supper  in  his  house,  and  that  each  one  of  us  should 
be  obliged  to  bring  with  him  his  crow  (such  was  the  nickname 
Michel  Agnolo  gave  to  women  in  the  club),  and  that  whoso 
did  not  bring  one  should  be  sconced  by  paying  a  supper  to  the 
whole  company.  Those  of  us  who  had  no  familiarity  with 
women,  were  forced  to  purvey  themselves  at  no  small  trouble 
and  expense,  in  order  to  appear  without  disgrace  at  that  dis- 
tinguished feast  of  artists.  I  had  reckoned  upon  being  well 
provided  with  a  young  woman  of  considerable  beauty,  called 
Pantasilea,  who  was  very  much  in  love  with  me;  but  I  was 
obliged  to  give  her  up  to  one  of  my  dearest  friends,  called 
II  Bachiacca,  who  on  his  side  had  been,  and  still  was,  over 
head  and  ears  in  love  with  her.  This  exchange  excited  a  cer- 
tain amount  of  lover's  anger,  because  the  lady,  seeing  I  had 
abandoned  her  at  Bachiacca's  first  entreaty,  imagined  that 
I  held  in  slight  esteem  the  great  affection  which  she  bore  me. 
In  course  of  time  a  very  serious  incident  grew  out  of  this 
misunderstanding,  through  her  desire  to  take  revenge  for  the 
aflfront  I  had  put  upon  her;  whereof  I  shall  speak  hereafter  in 
the  proper  place. 

Well,  then,  the  hour  was  drawing  nigh  when  we  had  to  pre- 
sent ourselves  before  that  company  of  men  of  genius,  each 
with  his  own  crow;  and  I  was  still  unprovided;  and  yet  I 
thought  it  would  be  stupid  to  fail  of  such  a  madcap  bagatelle; 
but  what  particularly  weighed  upon  my  mind  was  that  I  did 
not  choose  to  lend  the  light  of  my  countenance  in  that  illus- 

'  This  sculptor  came  to  Rome  with  his  compatriot  Baldassare  Peruzzi, 
and  was  employed  upon  the  monument    of    Pope  Adrian  VI,  which  he 
executed  with  some  help  from  Tribolo. 
4 


so 


CELLINI 


trious  sphere  to  some  miserable  plume-plucked  scarecrow. 
All  these  considerations  made  me  devise  a  pleasant  trick,  for 
the  increase  of  merriment  and  the  diffusion  of  mirth  in  our 
society. 

Havinf^  taken  this  resolve,  I  sent  for  a  stripling  of  sixteen 
years,  who  lived  in  the  next  house  to  mine;  he  was  the  son  of 
a  Spanish  coppersmith.  This  young  man  gave  his  time  to 
Latin  studies,  and  was  very  diligent  in  their  pursuit.  He 
bore  the  name  of  Diego,  had  a  handsome  figure,  and  a  com- 
plexion of  marvellous  brilliancy;  the  outlines  of  his  head  and 
face  were  far  more  beautiful  than  those  of  the  antique  An- 
tinous:  I  had  often  copied  them,  gaining  thereby  much  hon- 
our from  the  works  in  which  I  used  them.  The  youth  had  no 
acquaintances,  and  was  therefore  quite  unknown;  dressed 
very  ill  and  negligently;  all  his  affections  being  set  upon  those 
wonderful  studies  of  his.  After  bringing  him  to  my  house,  I 
begged  him  to  let  me  array  him  in  the  woman's  clothes  which 
I  had  caused  to  be  laid  out.  He  readily  complied,  and  put 
them  on  at  once,  while  I  added  new  beauties  to  the  beauty  of 
his  face  by  the  elaborate  and  studied  way  in  which  I  dressed 
his  hair.  In  his  ears  I  placed  two  little  rings,  set  with  two 
large  and  fair  pearls;  the  rings  were  broken;  they  only  clipped 
his  ears,  which  looked  as  though  they  had  been  pierced. 
Afterward  I  wreathed  his  throat  with  chains  of  gold  and  rich 
jewels,  and  ornamented  his  fair  hands  with  rings.  Then  I 
took  him  in  a  pleasant  manner  by  one  ear,  and  drew  him  be- 
fore a  great  looking-glass.  The  lad,  when  he  beheld  himself, 
cried  out  with  a  burst  of  enthusiasm:  "Heavens!  is  that 
Diego?"  Tsaid:  "That  is  Diego,  from  whom  until  this  day 
I  never  asked  for  any  kind  of  favour;  but  now  I  only  beseech 
Diego  to  do  me  pleasure  in  one  harmless  thing;  and  it  is  this 
— I  want  him  to  come  in  those  very  clothes  to  su]ipcr  with 
the  company  of  artists  whereof  he  has  often  heard  me  speak." 
The  young  man.  who  was  honest,  virtuous,  and  wise,  checked 
his  enthusiasm,  bent  his  eyes  to  the  grotmd,  and  stood  for  a 
short  while  in  silence.  Then  with  a  sudden  move  he  lifted 
up  his  face  and  said:  "  With  Benvenuto  I  will  go;  now  let  us 
start." 

I  wrapped  his  head  in  a  large  kind  of  napkin,  which  is 
called  in  Rome  a  summer-cloth;  and  when  we  reached  the 
place  of  meeting,  the  company  had  already  assembled,  and 


MEMOIRS  51 

everybody  came  forward  to  j^rcct  inc.  Michel  Agnolo  had 
placed  himself  between  Giulio  and  Giovan  Francesco.  I  lifted 
the  veil  from  the  head  of  my  beauty ;  and  then  Michel  Agnolo, 
who,  as  I  have  already  said,  was  the  most  humorous  and 
amusing  fellow  in  the  world,  laid  his  two  hands,  the  one  on 
Giulio's  and  the  other  on  Gian  h>ancesco's  shoulders,  and 
pulling  them  with  all  his  force,  made  them  bow  down,  while 
he,  on  his  knees  upon  the  floor,  cried  out  for  mercy,  and  called 
to  all  the  folk  in  words  like  these:  "  Behold  ye  of  what  sort 
are  the  angels  of  paradise!  for  though  they  are  called  angels, 
here  shall  ye  see  that  they  are  not  all  of  the  male  gender." 
Then  with  a  loud  voice  he  added: 

"Angel  beauteous,  angel  best, 
Save  me  thou,  make  thou  me  blest." 

Upon  this  my  charming  creature  laughed,  and  lifted  the  right 
hand  and  gave  him  a  papal  benediction,  with  many  pleasant 
words  to  boot.  So  Michel  Agnolo  stood  up,  and  said  it  was 
the  custom  to  kiss  the  feet  of  the  Pope  and  the  cheeks  of 
angels;  and  having  done  the  latter  to  Diego,  the  boy  blushed 
deeply,  which  immensely  enhanced  his  beauty. 

When  this  reception  was  over,  we  found  the  whole  room 
full  of  sonnets,  which  every  man  of  us  had  made  and  sent  to 
Michel  Agnolo.  My  lad  began  to  read  them,  and  read  them 
all  aloud  so  gracefully,  that  his  infinite  charms  were  height- 
ened beyond  the  powers  of  language  to  describe.  Then  fol- 
lowed conversation  and  witty  sayings,  on  which  I  will  not 
enlarge,  for  that  is  not  my  business ;  only  one  clever  word  must 
be  mentioned,  for  it  was  spoken  by  that  admirable  painter 
Giulio,  who,  looking  round  with  meaning  in  his  eyes  on  the 
bystanders,  and  fixing  them  particularly  upon  the  women,, 
turned  to  Michel  Agnolo  and  said :  "  My  dear  Michel  Agnolo,. 
your  nickname  of  crow  very  well  suits  those  ladies  to-day,, 
though  I  vow  they  are  somewhat  less  fair  than  crows  by  the 
side  of  one  of  the  most  lovely  peacocks  which  fancy  could 
have  painted." 

When  the  banquet  was  served  and  ready,  and  we  were 
going  to  sit  down  to  table,  Giulio  asked  leave  to  be  allowed  to 
place  us.  This  being  granted,  he  took  the  women  by  the 
hand,  and  arranged  them  all  upon  the  inner  side,  with  my  fair 
in  the  centre;  then  he  placed  all  the  mea  Qn  the  outside  and 


52 


CELLINI 


nie  in  the  middle,  saying  there  was  no  honour  too  great  for 
my  deserts.  As  a  background  to  the  women,  there  was  spread 
an  espalier  of  natural  jasmines  in  full  beauty,  which  set  off 
their  charms,  and  especially  Diego's,  to  such  great  advantage, 
that  words  would  fail  to  describe  the  effect.  Then  we  all  of 
us  fell  to  enjoying  the  abundance  of  our  host's  well-furnished 
table.  The  supper  was  followed  by  a  short  concert  of  delight- 
ful music,  voices  joining  in  harmony  with  instruments;  and 
forasmuch  as  they  were  singing  and  playing  from  the  book, 
my  beauty  begged  to  be  allowed  to  sing  his  part.  He  per- 
formed the  music  better  than  almost  all  the  rest,  which  so  as- 
tonished the  company  that  Giulio  and  Michel  Agnolo  dropped 
their  earlier  tone  of  banter,  exchanging  it  for  well-weighed 
terms  of  sober  heartfelt  admiration. 

After  the  music  was  over,  a  certain  Aurelio  Ascolano, 
remarkable  for  his  gift  as  an  improvisatory  poet,  began  to 
extol  the  women  in  choice  phrases  of  exquisite  compliment. 
While  he  was  chanting,  the  two  girls  who  had  my  beauty 
between  them  never  left  off  chattering.  They  asked  mine 
who  were  her  friends,  and  how  long  she  had  been  settled  in 
Rome,  and  many  other  questions  of  the  kind.  It  is  true  that, 
if  I  chose  to  describe  such  laughable  episodes,  I  could  relate 
several  odd  things  which  then  occurred  through  Pantasilea's 
jealousy  on  my  account;  but  since  they  form  no  part  of  my 
design,  I  pass  them  briefly  over.  At  last  the  conversation 
of  those  women  vexed  my  beauty,  wdiom  we  had  christened 
Pomona  for  the  nonce;  and  Pomona,  wanting  to  escape  from 
their  silly  talk,  turned  restlessly  upon  her  chair,  first  to  one 
side  and  then  to  the  other.  Finally  their  sharp  eyes  discov- 
ered the  real  sex  of  the  supposed  woman.  Thereupon  they 
quickly  rose  from  the  table,  uttering  such  gibing  words  as  are 
commonly  addressed  to  young  men  of  eminent  beauty.  The 
whole  room  rang  with  laughter  and  astonishment,  in  the  midst 
of  which  Michel  Agnolo,  assuming  a  fierce  aspect,  called  out 
for  leave  to  inflict  on  me  the  penance  he  thought  fit.  When 
this  was  granted,  he  lifted  me  aloft  amid  the  clamour  of  the 
company,  crying:  "Long  live  the  gentleman!  long  live  the 
gentleman!"  and  added  that  this  was  the  punishment  I  de- 
served for  having  played  so  fine  a  trick.  Thus  ended  that 
most  agreeable  supper-party,  and  each  of  us  returned  to  his 
own  dwelling  at  the  close  of  day. 


MEMOIRS 


XXXI 


53 


It  would  take  too  long  to  describe  in  detail  all  the  many 
and  divers  pieces  of  work  which  I  executed  for  a  great  variety 
of  men.  At  present  I  need  only  say  that  I  devoted  myself 
with  sustained  diligence  and  industry  to  acquiring  inastery  in 
the  several  branches  of  art  which  I  enumerated  a  short  while 
back.  And  so  I  went  on  labouring  incessantly  at  all  of  them; 
but  since  no  opportunity  has  presented  itself  as  yet  for  de- 
scribing my  most  notable  performances,  I  shall  wait  to  report 
them  in  their  proper  place  before  very  long.  The  Sienese 
sculptor,  Michel  Agnolo,  of  whom  I  have  recently  been  speak- 
ing, was  at  that  time  making  the  monument  of  the  late  Pope 
Adrian.  Giulio  Romano  went  to  paint  for  the  Marquis  of 
Mantua.  The  other  members  of  the  club  betook  themselves 
in  different  directions,  each  to  his  own  business;  so  that  our 
company  of  artists  was  well-nigh  altogether  broken  up. 

About  this  time  there  fell  into  my  hands  some  little  Turk- 
ish poniards;  the  handle  as  well  as  the  blade  of  these  daggers 
was  made  of  iron,  and  so  too  was  the  sheath.  They  were 
engraved  by  means  of  iron  implements  with  foliage  in  the 
most  exquisite  Turkish  style,  very  neatly  filled  in  with  gold. 
The  sight  of  them  stirred  in  me  a  great  desire  to  try  my 
own  skill,  in  that  branch,  so  different  from  the  others  which 
I  practised;  and  finding  that  I  succeeded  to  my  satisfaction, 
I  executed  several  pieces.  Mine  were  far  more  beautiful  and 
more  durable  than  the  Turkish,  and  this  for  divers  reasons. 
One  was  that  I  cut  my  grooves  much  deeper  and  with  wider 
trenches  in  the  steel;  for  this  is  not  usual  in  Turkish  work. 
Another  was  that  the  Turkish  arabesques  are  only  composed 
of  arum  leaves  with  a  few  small  sunflowers;  and  though  these 
have  a  certain  grace,  they  do  not  yield  so  lasting  a  pleasure 
as  the  patterns  which  we  use.  It  is  true  that  in  Italy  we  have 
several  different  ways  of  designing  foliage;  the  Lombards, 
for  example,  construct  very  beautiful  patterns  by  copving  the 
leaves  of  brionv  and  ivy  in  exquisite  curves,  which  are  ex- 
tremely agreeable  to  the  eye;  the  Tuscans  and  the  Romans 
make  a  better  choice,  because  they  imitate  the  leaves  of  the 
acanthus,  commonly  called  bear's-foot.  with  its  stalks  and 
flowers,  curline:  in  divers  wavy  lines;  and  into  these  arabesques 
one  may  excellently  well  insert  the  figures  of  little  birds  and 


54  CELLINI 

diflferent  animals,  by  which  the  good  taste  of  the  artist  is  dis- 
played. Some  hints  for  creatures  of  this  sort  can  be  observed 
in  nature  among  the  wild  flowers,  as,  for  instance,  in  snap- 
dragons and  some  few  other  plants,  which  must  be  combined 
and  developed  with  the  help  of  fanciful  imaginings  by  clever 
draughtsmen.  Such  arabesques  are  called  grotesques  by  the 
ignorant.  They  have  obtained  this  name  of  grotesques  among 
the  moderns  through  being  found  in  certain  subterranean 
caverns  in  Rome  by  students  of  antiquity;  which  caverns  were 
formerly  chambers,  hot-baths,  cabinets  for  study,  halls,  and 
apartments  of  like  nature.  The  curious  discovering  them  in 
such  places  (since  the  level  of  the  ground  has  gradually  been 
raised  while  they  have  remained  below,  and  since  in  Rome 
these  vaulted  rooms  are  commonly  called  grottoes),  it  has 
followed  that  the  word  grotesque  is  applied  to  the  patterns  I 
have  mentioned.  But  this  is  not  the  right  term  for  them,  in- 
asmuch as  the  ancients,  who  delighted  in  composing  mon- 
sters out  of  goats,  cows,  and  horses,  called  these  chimerical 
hybrids  by  the  name  of  monsters;  and  the  modern  artificers 
of  whom  I  spoke,  fashioned  from  the  foliage  which  they  copied 
monsters  of  like  nature;  for  these  the  proper  name  is  there- 
fore monsters,  and  not  grotesques.  Well,  then,  I  designed 
patterns  of  this  kind,  and  filled  them  in  with  gold,  as  I  have 
mentioned;  and  they  were  far  more  pleasing  to  the  eye  than 
the  Turkish. 

It  chanced  at  that  time  that  I  lighted  upon  some  jars  or 
little  antique  urns  filled  with  ashes,  and  among  the  ashes  were 
some  iron  rings  inlaid  with  gold  (for  the  ancients  also  used 
that  art),  and  in  each  of  the  rings  was  set  a  tiny  cameo  of  shell. 
On  applying  to  men  of  learning,  they  told  me  that  these  rings 
were  worn  as  amulets  by  folk  desirous  of  abiding  with  mind 
•unshaken  in  any  extraordinary  circumstance,  whether  of 
■good  or  evil  fortune.  Hereupon,  at  the  request  of  certain 
•noblemen  who  were  my  friends,  I  undertook  to  fabricate  some 
trifling  rings  of  this  kind;  but  I  made  them  of  refined  steel; 
•and  after  they  had  been  well  engraved  and  inlaid  with  gold, 
they  produced  a  very  beautiful  efifect;  and  sometimes  a  single 
ring  brought  me  more  than  forty  crowns,  merely  in  payment 
ifor  my  labour. 

It  was  the  custom  at  that  epoch  to  wear  little  golden 
medals,  upon  which  every  nobleman  or  man  of  quality  had 


MEMOIRS  55 

some  device  or  fancy  of  his  own  engraved;  and  these  were 
worn  in  the  cap.  Of  such  pieces  1  made  very  many,  and  found 
them  extremely  (Hfficult  to  work.  1  have  already  mentioned 
the  admirable  craftsman  Caradosso,  who  vised  to  make  such 
ornaments;  and  as  there  were  more  than  one  figure  on  each 
piece,  he  asked  at  least  a  hundred  gold  crowns  for  his  fee. 
This  being  so — not,  however,  because  his  prices  were  so  high, 
but  because  he  worked  so  slowly — I  began  to  be  employed  by 
certain  noblemen,  for  whom,  among  other  things,  I  made  a 
medal  in  competition  with  that  great  artist,  and  it  had  four 
figures,  upon  which  1  had  expended  an  infinity  of  labour. 
These  men  of  quality,  when  they  compared  my  piece  with  that 
of  the  famous  Caradosso,  declared  that  mine  was  by  far  the 
better  executed  and  more  beautiful,  and  bade  me  ask  what  I 
liked  as  the  reward  of  my  trouble;  for  since  I  had  given  them 
such  perfect  satisfaction,  they  wished  to  do  the  like  by  me. 
I  replied  that  my  greatest  reward  and  what  I  most  desired 
was  to  have  rivalled  the  masterpieces  of  so  eminent  an  artist; 
and  that  if  their  lordships  thought  I  had,  I  acknowledged 
myself  to  be  most  amply  rewarded.  With  this  I  took  my 
leave,  and  they  inmiediately  sent  me  such  a  very  liberal  pres- 
ent, that  I  was  well  content;  indeed  there  grew  in  me  so  great 
a  spirit  to  do  well,  that  to  this  event  I  attribute  what  will  after- 
ward be  related  of  my  progress. 

XXXII 

I  shall  be  obliged  to  digress  a  little  from  the  history  of  my 
art,  unless  I  were  to  omit  some  annoying  incidents  which  have 
happened  in  the  course  of  my  troubled  career.  One  of  these, 
which  I  am  about  to  describe,  brought  me  into  the  greatest 
risk  of  my  life.  I  have  already  told  the  story  of  the  artists' 
club,  and  of  the  farcical  adventures  which  happened  owing 
to  the  woman  whom  I  mentioned,  Pantasilea,  the  one  who  felt 
for  me  that  false  and  fulsome  love.  She  was  furiously  enraged 
because  of  the  pleasant  trick  by  which  I  brought  Diego  to  our 
banquet,  and  she  swore  to  be  revenged  on  me.  How  she  did 
so  is  mixed  up  with  the  history  of  a  young  man  called  Luigi 
Pulci,  who  had  recently  come  to  Rome.  He  possessed  ex- 
traordinary gifts  for  poetry  together  with  sound  Latin  scholar- 
ship; he  wrote  well,  was  graceful  in  manners,  and  of  surpris- 
ing personal  beauty;  he  had  just  left  the   service  of  some 


56 


CELLINI 


bishop,  whose  name  I  do  not  remember,  and  was  thoroughly 
tainted  with  vice.  While  he  was  yet  a  lad  and  living  in  Flor- 
ence, they  used  in  certain  places  of  the  city  to  meet  together 
during  the  nights  of  summer  on  the  public  streets;  and  he, 
ranking  among  the  best  of  the  improvisatori,  sang  there.  His 
recitations  were  so  admirable,  that  the  divine  Michel  Agnolo 
Buonarroti,  that  prince  of  sculptors  and  of  painters,  went, 
wherever  he  heard  that  he  would  be,  with  the  greatest  eager- 
ness and  delight  to  listen  to  him.  There  was  a  man  called 
Piloto,  a  goldsmith,  very  able  in  his  art,  who,  together  with 
myself,  joined  Buonarroti  upon  these  occasions.  Thus  ac- 
quaintance sprang  up  between  me  and  Luigi  Pulci;  and  so, 
after  the  lapse  of  many  years,  he  came,  in  the  miserable  plight 
which  I  have  mentioned,  to  make  himself  known  to  me  again 
in  Rome,  beseeching  me  for  God's  sake  to  help  him.  Moved 
to  compassion  by  his  great  talents,  by  the  love  of  my  father- 
land, and  by  my  own  natural  tenderness  of  heart,  I  took  him 
into  my  house,  and  had  him  treated  in  such  wise  that,  being 
but  a  youth,  he  soon  regained  his  health.  While  he  was  still 
pursuing  his  cure,  he  never  omitted  his  studies,  and  I  pro- 
vided him  with  books  according  to  the  means  at  my  disposal. 
The  result  was  that  Luigi,  recognising  the  great  benefits 
he  had  received  from  me,  oftentimes  with  words  and  tears 
returned  me  thanks,  protesting  that  if  God  should  ever  put 
good  fortune  in  his  way,  he  would  recompense  me  for  my 
kindness.  To  this  I  replied  that  I  had  not  done  for  him  as 
much  as  I  desired,  but  only  what  I  could,  and  that  it  was  the 
duty  of  human  beings  to  be  mutually  serviceable.  Only  I 
suggested  that  he  should  repay  the  service  I  had  rendered 
him  by  doing  likewise  to  some  one  who  might  have  the  same 
need  of  him  as  he  had  had  of  me. 

The  young  man  in  question  began  to  frequent  the  Court 
of  Rome,  where  he  soon  found  a  situation,  and  enrolled  him- 
self in  the  suite  of  a  bishop,  a  man  of  eighty  years,  who  bore 
the  title  of  Gurgensis.^  This  bishop  had  a  nephew  called 
Messer  Giovanni:  he  was  a  nobleman  of  Venice;  and  the  said 
Messer  Giovanni  made  show  of  marvellous  attachment  to 
Luigi  Pulci's  talents;  and  under  the  pretence  of  these  talents, 
he  brought  him  as  familiar  to  himself  as  his  own  flesh  and 

'  Girolamo  Balbo,  of  the  noble  Venetian  family,  Bishop  of  Gurck,  in 
Carinthia. 


MEMOIRS 


57 


blood.  Luigi  having  talked  of  me,  and  of  his  great  obliga- 
tions to  me,  with  Messer  Giovanni,  the  latter  expressed  a 
wish  to  make  my  acquaintance.  Thvis  then  it  came  to  pass, 
that  when  I  had  upon  a  certain  evening  invited  that  woman 
Pantasilea  to  supper,  and  had  assembled  a  company  of  men 
of  parts  who  were  my  friends,  just  at  the  moment  of  our  sitting 
down  to  table,  Messer  Giovanni  and  Luigi  Pulci  arrived,  and 
after  some  complimentary  speeches,  they  both  remained  to 
sup  with  us.  She,  casting  her  eyes  upon  the  young  man's 
beauty,  began  at  once  to  lay  her  nets  for  him;  perceiving 
which,  when  the  supper  had  come  to  an  agreeable  end,  I  took 
Luigi  aside,  and  conjured  him,  by  the  benefits  he  said  he 
owed  me,  to  have  nothing  whatever  to  do  with  her.  To  this 
he  answered:  "  Good  heavens,  Benvenuto!  do  you  then  take 
me  for  a  madman?"  I  rejoined:  "Not  for  a  madman,  but 
for  a  young  fellow;  "  and  I  swore  to  him  by  God:  "  I  do  not 
give  that  woman  the  least  thought;  but  for  your  sake  I  should 
be  sorry  if  through  her  you  came  to  break  your  neck."  Upon 
these  words  he  vowed  and  prayed  to  God,  that,  if  ever  he  but 
spoke  with  her,  he  might  upon  the  moment  break  his  neck. 
I  think  the  poor  lad  swore  this  oath  to  God  with  all  his  heart, 
for  he  did  break  his  neck,  as  I  shall  presently  relate.  He 
neglected  his  fine  talents,  and  pretended  not  to  see  or  recog- 
nise me,  because  I  had  once  rebuked  him,  and  told  him  he  was 
giving  his  soul  to  foul  vices,  which  would  make  him  break 
his  neck,  as  he  had  vowed. 

XXXIII 

Now  Messer  Giovanni  bought  his  favourite  a  very  fine 
black  horse,  for  which  he  paid  150  crowns.  The  beast  was 
admirably  trained  to  hand,  so  that  Luigi  could  go  daily  to 
caracole  around  the  lodgings  of  Pantasilea.  Though  I  took 
notice  of  this,  I  paid  it  no  attention,  only  remarking  that  all 
things  acted  as  their  nature  prompted;  and  meanwhile  I  gave 
my  whole  mind  to  my  studies.  It  came  to  pass  one  Sunday 
evening  that  we  were  invited  to  sup  together  with  the  Sienese 
sculptor,  Michel  Agnolo,  and  the  time  of  the  year  was  sum- 
mer. Bachiacca,  of  whom  I  have  already  spoken,  was  present 
at  the  party;  and  he  had  brought  with  him  his  old  fiame, 
Pantasilea.  When  we  were  at  table,  she  sat  between  me  and 
Bachiacca;  but  in  the  very  middle  of  the  banquet  she  rose, 


58  CELLINI 

saying  she  would  speedily  return.  We,  meanwhile,  continued 
talking  very  agreeably  and  supping;  but  she  remained  an 
unaccountably  long  time  absent.  It  chanced  that,  keeping 
my  ears  open,  I  thought  I  heard  a  sort  of  subdued  tittering  in 
the  street  below.  I  had  a  knife  in  hand,  which  I  was  using 
for  my  service  at  the  table.  The  window  was  so  close  to  where 
I  sat,  that,  by  merely  rising,  I  could  see  Luigi  in  the  street, 
together  with  Pantasilea;  and  I  heard  Luigi  saying:  "  Oh,  if 
that  devil  Benvenuto  only  saw  us,  shouldn't  we  just  catch  it!  " 
She  answered:  "  Have  no  fear;  only  listen  to  the  noise  they're 
making;  we  are  the  last  thing  they're  thinking  of."  At  these 
words,  having  made  them  both  well  out,  I  leaped  from  the 
window,  and  took  Luigi  by  the  cape;  and  certainly  I  should 
then  have  killed  him  with  the  knife  I  held,  but  that  he  was 
riding  a  white  horse,  to  which  he  clapped  spurs,  leaving  his 
cape  in  my  grasp,  in  order  to  preserve  his  life.  Pantasilea 
took  to  her  heels  in  the  direction  of  a  neighbouring  church. 
The  company  at  supper  rose  immediately,  and  came  down, 
entreating  me  in  a  body  to  refrain  from  putting  myself  and 
them  to  inconvenience.  I  told  them  that  I  should  not  have 
let  myself  be  moved  on  Pantasilea's  account,  but  that  I  was 
bent  on  punishing  the  infamous  young  man,  who  showed 
how  little  he  regarded  me.  Accordingly  I  would  not  yield 
to  the  remonstrances  of  those  ingenious  and  worthy  men, 
but  took  my  sword,  and  went  alone  toward  Prati : — the  house 
where  we  were  supping,  I  should  say,  stood  close  to  the  Cas- 
tello  gate,  which  led  to  Prati.^  Walking  thus  upon  the  road 
to  Prati,  I  had  not  gone  far  before  the  sun  sank,  and  I  re- 
entered Rome  itself  at  a  slow  pace.  Night  had  fallen;  dark- 
ness had  come  on ;  but  the  gates  of  Rome  were  not  yet  shut. 

Toward  two  hours  after  sunset,  I  walked  along  Pantasilea's 
lodging,  with  the  intention,  if  Luigi  Pulci  were  there,  of  doing 
something  to  the  discontent  of  both.  When  I  heard  and  saw 
that  no  one  but  a  poor  servant-girl  called  Canida  was  in  the 
house,  I  went  to  put  away  my  cloak  and  the  scabbard  of  my 
sword,  and  then  returned  to  the  house,  which  stood  behind  the 

'  The  Porta  Castello  was  the  gate  called  after  the  Castle  of  S.  Angelo. 
Prati,  so  far  as  I  can  make  out,  was  an  open  space  between  the  Borgo 
and  the  Bridge  of  S.  Angelo.  In  order  to  get  inside  Rome  itself,  Cellini 
had  to  pass  a  second  gate.  His  own  lodging  and  Pantasilea's  house  were 
in  the  quarter  of  the  Bianchi,  where  are  now  the  Via  Giulia  and  Via  de' 
Panchi  Vecchi, 


MEMOIRS 


59 


Banchi  on  the  river  Tiber.  Just  opposite  stretched  a  garden 
belonging  to  an  innkeeper  called  Roniolo.  It  was  enclosed 
by  a  thick  hedge  of  thorns,  in  which  1  hid  myself,  standing 
upright,  and  waiting  till  the  woman  came  back  with  Luigi. 
After  I  had  kept  watch  awhile  there,  my  friend  Bachiacca 
crept  up  to  me;  whether  led  by  his  own  suspicions  or  by  the 
advice  of  others,  I  can  not  say.  In  a  low  voice  he  called  out 
to  me:  "  Gossip  "  (for  so  we  used  to  name  ourselves  for  fun); 
and  then  he  prayed  me  for  God's  love,  using  the  words  which 
follow,  with  tears  in  the  tone  of  his  voice:  "  Dear  gossip,  I 
entreat  you  not  to  injure  that  poor  girl;  she  at  least  has  erred 
in  no  wise  in  this  matter — no,  not  at  all."  When  I  heard  what 
he  was  saying,  I  replied:  "  If  you  don't  take  yourself  ofif  now, 
at  this  first  word  I  utter,  I  will  bring  my  sword  here  down 
upon  your  head."  Overwhelmed  with  fright,  my  poor  gossip 
was  suddenly  taken  ill  with  the  colic,  and  withdrew.  There 
was  a  glorious  heaven  of  stars,  which  shed  good  light  to 
see  by.  All  of  a  sudden  I  was  aware  of  the  noise  of  many 
horses;  they  were  coming  toward  me  from  the  one  side  and 
the  other.  It  turned  out  to  be  Luigi  and  Pantasilea,  attended 
by  a  certain  Messer  Benvegnato  of  Perugia,  who  was  cham- 
berlain to  Pope  Clement,  and  followed  by  four  doughty  cap- 
tains of  Perugia,  with  some  other  valiant  soldiers  in  the  flower 
of  youth;  altogether  reckoned,  there  were  more  than  twelve 
swords.  When  I  understood  the  matter,  and  saw  not  how 
to  fly,  I  did  my  best  to  crouch  into  the  hedge.  But  the  thorns 
pricked  and  hurt  me,  goading  me  to  madness  like  a  bull ;  and 
I  had  half  resolved  to  take  a  leap  and  hazard  my  escape. 
Just  then  Luigi,  with  his  arm  round  Pantasilea's  neck,  was 
heard  crying:  "  I  must  kiss  you  once  again,  if  only  to  insult 
that  traitor  Benvenuto."  At  that  moment,  annoyed  as  I  was 
by  the  prickles,  and  irritated  by  the  young  man's  words,  I 
sprang  forth,  lifted  my  sword  on  high,  and  shouted  at  the  top 
of  my  voice:  "  You  are  all  dead  folk!  "  My  blow  descended 
on  the  shoulder  of  Luigi;  but  the  satyrs  who  doted  on  him, 
had  steeled  his  person  round  with  coats  of  mail  and  such-like 
villainous  defences;  still  the  stroke  fell  with  crushing  force. 
Swerving  aside,  the  sword  hit  Pantasilea  full  in  nose  and 
mouth.  Both  she  and  Luigi  grovelled  on  the  ground,  while 
Bachiacca  screamed  out  and  ran  away.  Then  I  turned  upon 
the  others  boldly  with  my  sword;  and  those  valiant  fellows. 


6o  CELLINI 

hearing  a  sudden  commotion  in  the  tavern,  thought  there 
was  an  army  coming  of  a  hundred  men;  and  though  they 
drew  their  swords  with  spirit,  yet  two  horses  which  had  taken 
fright  in  the  tumuh  cast  them  into  such  disorder  that  two  of 
the  best  riders  were  thrown,  and  the  remainder  took  to  flight. 
I,  seeing  that  the  affair  was  turning  out  well  for  me,  ran  as 
quickly  as  I  could,  and  came  ofi  with  honour  from  the  en- 
gagement, not  wishing  to  tempt  fortune  more  than  was  my 
duty.  During  this  hurly-burly,  some  of  the  soldiers  and  cap- 
tains wounded  themselves  with  their  own  arms;  and  Messer 
Benvegnato,  the  Pope's  chamberlain,  was  kicked  and  trampled 
by  his  mule.  One  of  the  servants  also,  who  had  drawn  his 
sword,  fell  down  together  with  his  master,  and  wounded  him 
badly  in  the  hand.  Maddened  by  the  pain,  he  swore  louder 
than  all  the  rest  in  his  Perugian  jargon,  crying  out:  "  By  the 
body  of  God,  I  will  take  care  that  Benvegnato  teaches  Ben- 
venuto  how  to  live."  He  afterward  commissioned  one  of  the 
captains  who  were  with  him  (braver  perhaps  than  the  others, 
but  with  less  aplomb,  as  being  but  a  youth)  to  seek  me  out. 
The  fellow  came  to  visit  me  in  the  place  of  my  retirement; 
that  was  the  palace  of  a  great  Neapolitan  nobleman,  who  had 
become  acquainted  with  me  in  my  art,  and  had  besides  taken 
a  fancy  to  me  because  of  my  physical  and  mental  aptitude  for 
fighting,  to  which  my  lord  himself  was  personally  well  in- 
clined. So,  then,  finding  myself  made  much  of,  and  being 
precisely  in  my  element,  I  gave  such  answer  to  the  captain 
as  I  think  must  have  made  him  earnestly  repent  of  having 
come  to  look  me  up.  After  a  few  days,  when  the  wounds  of 
Luigi,  and  the  strumpet,  and  the  rest  were  healing,  this  great 
Neapolitan  nobleman  received  overtures  from  Messer  Ben- 
vegnato; for  the  prelate's  anger  had  cooled,  and  he  proposed 
to  ratify  a  peace  between  me  and  Luigi  and  the  soldiers,  who 
had  personally  no  quarrel  with  me,  and  only  wished  to  make 
my  acquaintance.  Accordingly  my  friend  the  nobleman  re- 
plied that  he  would  bring  me  where  they  chose  to  appoint, 
and  that  he  was  very  willing  to  effect  a  reconciliation.  He 
stipulated  that  no  words  should  be  bandied  about  on  either 
side,  seeing  that  would  be  little  to  their  credit;  it  was  enough 
to  go  through  the  form  of  drinking  together  and  exchanging 
kisses;  he  for  his  part  undertook  to  do  the  talking,  and  prom- 
ised to  settle  the  matter  to  their  honour.     This  arrangement 


MEMOIRS  6l 

was  carried  out.  On  Thursday  evening  my  protector  took  me 
to  the  liouse  of  Messer  Benvegnato,  where  all  the  soldiers  who 
had  been  present  at  that  discomfiture  were  assembled,  and 
already  seated  at  table.  My  nobleman  was  attended  by  thirty 
brave  fellows,  all  well  armed;  a  circumstance  which  Messer 
Benvegnato  had  not  anticipated.  When  we  came  into  the 
hall,  he  walking  first,  I  following,  he  spake  to  this  effect: 
"  God  save  you,  gentlemen ;  we  have  come  to  see  you,  I  and 
Benvenuto,  whom  I  love  like  my  own  brother;  and  we  are 
ready  to  do  whatever  you  propose."  Messer  Benvegnato, 
seeing  the  hall  fill  with  such  a  crowd  of  men,  called  out:  "  It 
is  only  peace,  and  nothing  else,  we  ask  of  you."  Accordingly 
he  promised  that  the  governor  of  Rome  and  his  catchpoles 
should  give  me  no  trouble.  Then  we  made  peace,  and  I 
returned  to  my  shop,  where  I  could  not  stay  an  hour  without 
that  Neapolitan  nobleman  either  coming  to  see  me  or  sending 
for  me. 

Meanwhile  Luigi  Pulci,  having  recovered  from  his  wound, 
rode  every  day  upon  the  black  horse  which  was  so  well  trained 
to  heel  and  bridle.  One  day,  among  others,  after  it  liad  rained 
a  little,  and  he  was  making  his  horse  curvet  just  before  Pan- 
tasilea's  door,  he  slipped  and  fell,  with  the  horse  upon  him. 
His  right  leg  was  broken  short  off  in  the  thigh;  and  after  a 
few  days  he  died  there  in  Pantasilea's  lodgings,  discharging 
thus  the  vow  he  registered  so  heartily  to  Heaven.  Even  so 
may  it  be  seen  that  God  keeps  account  of  the  good  and  the 
bad,  and  gives  to  each  one  what  he  merits. 

XXXIV 

The  whole  world  was  now  in  warfare.^  Pope  Clement  had 
sent  to  get  some  troops  from  Giovanni  de'  Medici,  and  when 
they  came,  they  made  such  disturbances  in  Rome,  that  it  was 
ill  Hving  in  open  shops.^  On  this  account  I  retired  to  a  good 
snug  house  behind  the  Banchi.  where  I  worked  for  all  the 
friends  I  had  acquired.  Since  I  produced  few  things  of  much 
importance  at  that  period,  I  need  not  w^aste  time  in  talking 

■  War  had  broken  out  in  1521  between  Charles  V  and  Francis  I, 
which  disturbed  all  Europe  and  involved  the  States  of  Italy  in  serious 
complications.  At  the  moment  when  this  chapter  opens,  the  Imperialist 
army  under  ihe  Constable  of  Bourbon  was  marching  upon  Rome  in  1527. 

'  These  troops  entered  Rome  in  October,  1526.  They  were  disbanded 
in  March,  1527, 


62  CELLINI 

about  them.  I  took  much  pleasure  in  music  and  amusements 
of  the  kind.  On  the  death  of  Giovanni  de'  Medici  in  Lom- 
bardy,  the  Pope,  at  the  advice  of  Messer  Jacopo  Salviati,  dis- 
missed the  five  bands  he  had  engaged;  and  when  the  Con- 
stable of  Bourbon  knew  there  were  no  troops  in  Rome,  he 
pushed  his  army  with  the  utmost  energy  up  to  the  city.  The 
whole  of  Rome  upon  this  flew  to  arms.  I  happened  to  be  in- 
timate with  Alessandro,  the  son  of  Piero  del  Bene,  who,  at  the 
time  when  the  Colonnesi  entered  Rome,  had  requested  me 
to  guard  his  palace.^  On  this  more  serious  occasion,  there- 
fore, he  prayed  me  to  enlist  fifty  comrades  for  the  protection 
of  the  said  house,  appointing  me  their  captain,  as  I  had  been 
when  the  Colonnesi  came.  So  I  collected  fifty  young  men  of 
the  highest  courage,  and  we  took  up  our  quarters  in  his  palace, 
with  good  pay  and  excellent  appointments. 

Bourbon's  army  had  now  arrived  before  the  walls  of  Rome, 
and  Alessandro  begged  me  to  go  with  him  to  reconnoitre. 
So  we  went  with  one  of  the  stoutest  fellows  in  our  company; 
and  on  the  way  a  youth  called  Cecchino  dclla  Casa  joined 
himself  to  us.  On  reaching  the  walls  by  the  Campo  Santo, 
we  could  see  that  famous  army,  which  was  making  every 
effort  to  enter  the  town.  Upon  the  ramparts  where  we  took 
our  station,  several  young  men  were  lying  killed  by  the  be- 
siegers; the  battle  raged  there  desperately,  and  there  was  the 
densest  fog  imaginable.  I  turned  to  Alessandro  and  said: 
"  Let  us  go  home  as  soon  as  we  can,  for  there  is  nothing 
to  be  done  here;  you  see  the  enemies  are  mounting,  and  our 
men  are  in  flight."  Alessandro,  in  a  panic,  cried:  "Would 
God  that  we  had  never  come  here!"  and  turned  in  maddest 
haste  to  fly.  I  took  him  up  somewhat  sharply  with  these 
words :  "  Since  you  have  brought  me  here,  I  must  perform 
some  action  worthy  of  a  man;"  and  directing  my  arquebuse 
where  I  saw  the  thickest  and  most  serried  troop  of  fighting 
men,  I  aimed  exactly  at  one  whom  I  remarked  to  be  higher 
than    the    rest:    the    fog   prevented    me    from    being    certain 

'  Cellini  here  refers  to  the  attack  made  upon  Rome  by  the  great 
Ghibelline  house  of  Colonna,  led  by  their  chief  captain,  Pompeo,  in  Sep- 
tember, 1526.  They  took  possession  of  the  city  and  drove  Clement  into 
the  Castle  of  S.  Angelo,  where  they  forced  him  to  agree  to  terms  favour- 
ing the  Imperial  cause.  It  was  customary  for  Roman  gentlemen  to  hire 
bravi  for  the  defence  of  their  palaces  when  any  extraordinary  disturbance 
was  expected,  as,  for  example,  upon  the  vacation  of  the  Papal  Chair. 


MEMOIRS  63 

whether  he  was  on  horseback  or  on  foot.  Then  I  turned  to 
Alessandro  and  Cecchino,  and  bade  them  discharge  their 
arquebuses,  showing  them  how  to  avoid  being  hit  by  the 
besiegers.  When  we  had  fired  two  rounds  apiece,  I  crept 
cautiously  up  to  the  wall,  and  observing  among  the  enemy  a 
most  extraordinary  confusion,  I  discovered  afterward  that  one 
of  our  shots  had  killed  the  Constable  of  Bourbon;  and  from 
what  I  subsequently  learned,  he  was  the  man  whom  I  had 
first  noticed  above  the  heads  of  the  rcst.^ 

Quitting  our  position  on  the  ramparts,  we  crossed  the 
Campo  Santo,  and  entered  the  city  by  St.  Peter's;  then  com- 
ing out  exactly  at  the  church  of  Santo  Agnolo,  we  got  with 
the  greatest  difficulty  to  the  great  gate  of  the  castle;  for  the 
generals  Renzo  di  Ceri  and  Orazio  Baglioni  were  wounding 
and  slaughtering  everybody  who  abandoned  the  defence  of 
the  walls.*  By  the  time  we  had  reached  the  great  gate,  part 
of  the  foemen  had  already  entered  Rome,  and  we  had  them  in 
our  rear.  The  castellan  had  ordered  the  portcullis  to  be  low- 
ered, in  order  to  do  which  they  cleared  a  little  space,  and  this 
enabled  us  four  to  get  inside.  On  the  instant  that  I  entered, 
the  captain  Pallone  de'  Medici  claimed  me  as  being  of  the 
Papal  household,  and  forced  me  to  abandon  Alessandro,  which 
I  had  to  do,  much  against  my  will.  I  ascended  to  the  keep, 
and  at  the  same  instant  Pope  Clement  came  in  through  the 
corridors  into  the  castle;  he  had  refused  to  leave  the  palace  of 
St.  Peter  earlier,  being  unable  to  believe  that  his  enemies 
would  effect  their  entrance  into  Rome.  Having  got  into  the 
castle  in  this  way,  I  attached  myself  to  certain  pieces  of  artil- 
lery, which  were  under  the  command  of  a  bombardier  called 
Giuliano  Fiorentino.  Leaning  there  against  the  battlements, 
the  unhappy  man  could  see  his  poor  house  being  sacked,  and 
his  wife  and  children  outraged;  fearing  to  strike  his  own  folk, 
he  dared  not  discharge  the  cannon,  and  flinging  the  burning 

'  All  historians  of  the  sack  of  Rome  agree  in  saying  that  Bourbon  was 
shot  dead  while  placing  ladders  against  the  outworks  near  the  shop  Cel- 
lini mentions.  But  the  honour  of  firing  the  arquebuse  which  brought 
him  down  can  not  be  assigned  to  any  one  in  particular.  Very  different 
stories  were  current  on  the  subject. 

'  Orazio  Baglioni,  of  the  semi-princely  Perugian  family,  was  a  distin- 
guished Condottiere.  He  subsequently  obtained  the  captaincy  of  the 
Bande  Nere,  and  died  fighting  near  Naples  in  1528.  Orazio  murdered 
several  of  his  cousins  in  order  to  acquire  the  lordship  of  Perugia. 


64  CELLINI 

fuse  upon  the  ground,  he  wept  as  though  his  heart  would 
break,  and  tore  his  cheeks  with  both  his  hands.  Some  of 
the  other  bombardiers  were  behaving  in  hke  manner;  seeing 
which,  I  took  one  of  the  matches,  and  got  the  assistance  of 
a  few  men  who  were  not  overcome  by  their  emotions.  I 
aimed  some  swivels  and  falconets  at  points  where  I  saw  it 
would  be  useful,  and  killed  with  them  a  good  number  of  the 
enemy.  Had  it  not  been  for  this,  the  troops  who  poured  into 
Rome  that  morning,  and  were  marching  straight  upon  the 
castle,  might  possibly  have  entered  it  with  ease,  because  the 
artillery  was  doing  them  no  damage.  I  went  on  firing  under 
the  eyes  of  several  cardinals  and  lords,  who  kept  blessing  me 
and  giving  me  the  heartiest  encouragement.  In  my  enthusi- 
asm I  strove  to  achieve  the  impossible;  let  it  suffice  that  it  was 
I  who  saved  the  castle  that  morning,  and  brought  the  other 
bombardiers  back  to  their  duty.  I  worked  hard  the  whole 
of  that  day;  and  when  the  evening  came,  while  the  army  was 
marching  into  Rome  through  the  Trastevere,  Pope  Clement 
appointed  a  great  Roman  nobleman  named  Antonio  Santa- 
croce  to  be  captain  of  all  the  gunners.  The  first  thing  this 
man  did  was  to  come  to  me,  and  having  greeted  me  with 
the  utmost  kindness,  he  stationed  me  with  five  fine  pieces 
of  artillery  on  the  highest  point  of  the  castle,  to  which  the 
name  of  the  Angel  specially  belongs.  This  circular  eminence 
goes  round  the  castle,  and  surveys  both  Prati  and  the  town  of 
Rome.  The  captain  put  under  my  orders  enough  men  to  help 
in  managing  my  guns,  and  having  seen  me  paid  in  advance, 
he  gave  me  rations  of  bread  and  a  little  wine,  and  begged  me 
to  go  forward  as  I  had  begun.  I  was  perhaps  more  inclined 
by  nature  to  the  profession  of  arms  than  to  the  one  1  had 
adopted,  and  I  took  such  pleasure  in  its  duties  that  I  dis- 
charged them  better  than  those  of  my  own  art.  Night  came, 
the  enemy  had  entered  Rome,  and  we  who  were  in  the  castle 
(especially  myself,  who  had  always  taken  pleasure  in  extraor- 
dinary sights)  stayed  gazing  on  the  indescribable  scene  of 
tumult  and  conflagration  in  the  streets  below.  People  who 
were  anywhere  else  but  where  we  were,  could  not  have  formed 
the  least  imagination  of  what  it  was.  I  will  not,  however,  set 
myself  to  describe  that  tragedy,  but  will  content  myself  with 
continuing  the  history  of  my  own  life  and  the  circumstances 
which  properly  belong  to  it. 


MEMOIRS 


65 


XXXV 

During  the  course  of  my  artillery  practice,  which  I  never 
intermitted  through  the  whole  month  passed  by  us  beleaguered 
in  the  castle,  I  met  with  a  great  many  very  striking  accidents, 
all  of  them  worthy  to  be  related.  But  since  I  do  not  care  to 
be  too  prolix,  or  to  exhibit  myself  outside  the  sphere  of  my 
profession,  I  will  omit  the  larger  part  of  them,  only  touching 
upon  those  I  can  not  well  neglect,  which  shall  be  the  fewest  in 
number  and  the  most  remarkable.  The  first  which  comes  to 
hand  is  this:  Messer  Antonio  Santacroce  had  made  me  come 
down  from  the  Angel,  in  order  to  fire  on  some  houses  in  the 
neighbourhood,  where  certain  of  our  besiegers  had  been  seen 
to  enter.  While  I  was  firing,  a  cannot  shot  reached  me,  which 
hit  the  angle  of  a  battlement,  and  carried  ofif  enough  of  it  to 
be  the  cause  why  I  sustained  no  injury.  The  whole  mass 
struck  me  in  the  chest  and  took  my  breath  away.  I  lay 
stretched  upon  the  ground  like  a  dead  man,  and  could  hear 
what  the  bystanders  were  saying.  Among  them  all,  Messer 
Antonio  Santacroce  lamented  greatly,  exclaiming:  "Alas, 
alas!  we  have  lost  the  best  defender  that  we  had."  Attracted 
by  the  uproar,  one  of  my  comrades  ran  up;  he  was  called 
Gianfrancesco,  and  was  a  bandsman,  but  was  far  more  natu- 
rally given  to  medicine  than  to  music.  On  the  spot  he  flew 
off,  crying  for  a  stoop  of  the  very  best  Greek  wine.  Then  he 
made  a  tile  red-hot,  and  cast  upon  it  a  good  handful  of  worm- 
wood; after  which  he  sprinkled  the  Greek  wine;  and  when 
the  wormwood  was  well  soaked,  he  laid  it  on  my  breast,  just 
where  the  bruise  was  visible  to  all.  Such  was  the  virtue  of 
the  wormwood  that  I  immediately  regained  my  scattered 
faculties.  I  wanted  to  begin  to  speak,  but  could  not;  for 
some  stupid  soldiers  had  filled  my  mouth  with  earth,  imagin- 
ing that  by  so  doing  they  were  giving  me  the  sacrament;  and 
indeed  they  were  more  like  to  have  excommunicated  me, 
since  I  could  with  difificulty  come  to  myself  again,  the  earth 
doing  me  more  mischief  than  the  blow.  However,  I  escaped 
that  danger,  and  returned  to  the  rage  and  fury  of  the  guns, 
pursuing  my  work  there  with  all  the  ability  and  eagerness 
that  I  could  summon. 

Pope  Clement,  by  this,  had  sent  to  demand  assistance  from 
the  Duke  of  Urbino,  who  was  with  the  troops  of  Venice;  he 
5 


66  CELLINI 

commissioned  the  envoy  to  tell  his  Excellency  that  the  Castle 
of  S.  Angelo  would  send  up  every  evening  three  beacons  from 
its  summit,  accompanied  by  three  discharges  of  the  cannon 
thrice  repeated,  and  that  so  long  as  this  signal  was  continued, 
he  might  take  for  granted  that  the  castle  had  not  yielded.  I 
was  charged  with  lighting  the  beacons  and  firing  the  guns 
for  this  purpose;  and  all  this  while  I  pointed  my  artillery 
by  day  upon  the  places  where  mischief  could  be  done.  The 
Pope,  in  consequence,  began  to  regard  me  with  still  greater 
favour,  because  he  saw  that  I  discharged  my  functions  as 
intelligently  as  the  task  demanded.  Aid  from  the  Duke  of 
Urbino  never  came;  on  which,  as  it  is  not  my  business,  I 
will  make  no  further  comment.^ 

XXXVI 

While  I  was  at  work  upon  that  diabolical  task  of  mine, 
there  came  from  time  to  time  to  watch  me  some  of  the  cardi- 
nals who  were  invested  in  the  castle;  and  most  frequently  the 
Cardinal  of  Ravenna  and  the  Cardinal  de'  Gaddi.^  I  often 
told  them  not  to  show  themselves,  since  their  nasty  red  caps 
gave  a  fair  mark  to  our  enemies.  From  neighbouring  build- 
ings, such  as  the  Torre  de'  Bini,  we  ran  great  peril  when  they 
were  there;  and  at  last  I  had  them  locked  off,  and  gained 
thereby  their  deep  ill-will.  I  frequently  received  visits  also 
from  the  general,  Orazio  Baglioni,  who  was  very  well  affected 
toward  me.  One  day  while  he  was  talking  with  me,  he  no- 
ticed something  going  forward  in  a  drinking-place  outside 
the  Porta  di  Castello,  which  bore  the  name  of  Baccanello. 
This  tavern  had  for  sign  a  sun  painted  between  two  windows, 
of  a  bright  red  colour.  The  windows  being  closed,  Signor 
Orazio  concluded  that  a  band  of  soldiers  were  carousing  at 
table  just  between  them  and  behind  the  sun.     So  he  said  to 

'  Francesco  Maria  della  Rovere,  Duke  of  Urbino,  commanded  a  con- 
siderable army  as  general  of  the  Church,  and  was  now  acting  for  Venice. 
Why  he  effected  no  diversion  while  the  Imperial  troops  were  marching 
upon  Rome,  and  why  he  delayed  to  relieve  the  city,  was  never  properly 
explained.  Folk  attributed  his  impotent  conduct  partly  to  a  natural  slug- 
gishness in  warfare,  and  partly  to  his  hatred  for  the  house  of  Medici.  Leo 
X  had  deprived  him  of  his  dukedom,  and  given  it  to  a  Medicean  prince. 

'  Benedetto  Accolti  of  Arezzo,  Archbishop  of  Ravenna  in  1524,  ob- 
tained the  hat  in  1527,  three  days  before  the  sack  of  Rome.  He  was  a 
distinguished  man  of  letters.  Niccolb  Gaddi  was  created  Cardinal  on  the 
same  day  as  Accolti. 


MEMOIRS  67 

me:  "  Bcnvenuto,  if  you  think  that  you  could  hit  that  wall 
an  ell's  breadth  from  the  sun  with  your  demi-cannon  here,  I 
believe  you  would  be  doing  a  good  stroke  of  business,  for 
there  is  a  great  commotion  there,  and  men  of  much  impor- 
tance must  probably  be  inside  the  house."  I  answered  that 
I  felt  quite  capable  of  hitting  the  sun  in  its  centre,  but  that 
a  barrel  full  of  stones,  which  was  standing  close  to  the  muzzle 
of  the  gun,  might  be  knocked  down  by  the  shock  of  the  dis- 
charge and  the  blast  of  the  artillery.  He  rejoined:  "  Don't 
waste  time,  Benvenuto.  In  the  first  place,  it  is  not  possible, 
where  it  is  standing,  that  the  cannon's  blast  should  bring  it 
down;  and  even  if  it  were  to  fall,  and  the  Pope  himself  was 
underneath,  the  mischief  would  not  be  so  great  as  you  im- 
agine. Fire,  then,  only  fire!  "  Taking  no  more  thought  about 
it,  I  struck  the  sun  in  the  centre,  exactly  as  I  said  I  should. 
The  cask  was  dislodged,  as  I  predicted,  and  fell  precisely  be- 
tween Cardinal  Farnese  and  Messer  Jacopo  Salviati.^  It 
might  very  well  have  dashed  out  the  brains  of  both  of  them, 
except  that  just  at  that  very  moment  Farnese  was  reproach- 
ing Salviati  with  having  caused  the  sack  of  Rome,  and  while 
they  stood  apart  from  one  another  to  exchange  opprobrious 
remarks,  my  gabion  fell  without  destroying  them.  When  he 
heard  the  uproar  in  the  court  below,  good  Signor  Orazio 
dashed  off  in  a  hurry;  and  I,  thrusting  my  neck  forward 
where  the  cask  had  fallen,  heard  some  people  saying:  "  It 
would  not  be  a  bad  job  to  kill  that  gunner!  "  Upon  this  I 
turned  two  falconets  toward  the  staircase,  with  mind  resolved 
to  let  blaze  on  the  first  man  who  attempted  to  come  up.  The 
household  of  Cardinal  Farnese  must  have  received  orders  to 
go  and  do  me  some  injury;  accordingly  I  prepared  to  receive 
them,  with  a  lighted  match  in  hand.  Recognising  some  who 
were  approaching,  I  called  out:  "You  lazy  lubbers,  if  you 
don't  pack  off  from  there,  and  if  but  a  man's  child  among  you 
dares  to  touch  the  staircase,  I  have  got  two  cannon  loaded, 
w^hich  will  blow  you  into  powder.  Go  and  tell  the  Cardinal 
that  I  was  acting  at  the  order  of  superior  officers,  and  that 
what  we  have  done  and  are  doing  is  in  defence  of  those  priests, 
and  not  to  hurt  them."  They  made  away;  and  then  came 
Signor  Orazio  Baglioni,  running.     I  bade  him  stand  back, 

'  Alessandro  Farnese,  Dean  of  the  Sacred  College,  and  afterward  Pope 
Paul  III. 


68  CELLINI 

else  I'd  murder  him;  for  I  knew  very  well  who  he  was.  He 
drew  back  a  little,  not  without  a  certain  show  of  fear,  and 
called  out:  "  Benvenuto,  I  am  your  friend!"  To  this  I  an- 
swered: "  Sir,  come  up,  but  come  alone,  and  then  come  as  you 
like."  The  general,  who  was  a  man  of  mighty  pride,  stood 
still  a  moment,  and  then  said  angrily:  "  I  have  a  good  mind 
not  to  come  up  again,  and  to  do  quite  the  opposite  of  that 
which  I  intended  toward  you."  I  replied  that  just  as  I  was 
put  there  to  defend  my  neighbours,  I  was  equally  well  able 
to  defend  myself  too.  He  said  that  he  was  coming  alone; 
and  when  he  arrived  at  the  top  of  the  stairs,  his  features  were 
more  discomposed  than  I  thought  reasonable.  So  I  kept  my 
hand  upon  my  sword,  and  stood  eyeing  him  askance.  Upon 
this  he  began  to  laugh,  and  the  colour  coming  back  into  his 
face,  he  said  to  me  with  the  most  pleasant  manner:  "  Friend 
Benvenuto,  I  bear  you  as  great  love  as  I  have  it  in  my  heart 
to  give;  and  in  God's  good  time  I  will  render  you  proof  of 
this.  Would  to  God  that  you  had  killed  those  two  rascals;  for 
one  of  them  is  the  cause  of  all  this  trouble,  and  the  day  per- 
chance will  come  when  the  other  will  be  found  the  cause  of 
something  even  worse."  He  then  begged  me,  if  I  should  be 
asked,  not  to  say  that  he  was  with  me  when  I  fired  the  gun; 
and  for  the  rest  bade  me  be  of  good  cheer.  The  commotion 
which  the  afifair  made  was  enormous,  and  lasted  a  long  while. 
However,  I  will  not  enlarge  upon  it  further,  only  adding  that 
I  was  within  an  inch  of  revenging  my  father  on  Messer  Jacopo 
Salviati,  who  had  grievously  injured  him,  according  to  my 
father's  frequent  complaints.  As  it  was,  unwittingly  I  gave 
the  fellow  a  great  fright.  Of  Farnese  I  shall  say  nothing 
here,  because  it  will  appear  in  its  proper  place  how  well  it 
would  have  been  if  I  had  killed  him. 

XXXVII 
I  pursued  my  business  of  artilleryman,  and  every  day  per- 
formed some  extraordinary  feat,  whereby  the  credit  and  the 
favour  I  acquired  with  the  Pope  was  something  indescribable. 
There  never  passed  a  day  but  what  I  killed  one  or  another 
of  our  enemies  in  the  besieging  army.  On  one  occasion  the 
Pope  was  walking  round  the  circular  keep,'  when  he  observed 

'  •  The  Mastio  or  main  body  of  Hadrian's  Mausoleum,  which  was  con- 
verted into  a  fortress  during  the  Middle  Ages. 


MEMOIRS 


69 


a  Spanish  Colonel  in  the  Prati;  he  recognised  the  man  by 
certain  indications,  seeing  that  this  officer  had  formerly  been 
in  his  service;  and  while  he  fixed  his  eyes  on  him,  he  kept 
talking  about  him.  I,  above  by  the  Angel,  knew  nothing  of 
all  this,  but  spied  a  fellow  down  there,  busying  himself  about 
the  trenches  with  a  javelin  in  his  hand;  he  was  dressed  en- 
tirely in  rose-colour;  and  so,  studying  the  worst  that  I  could 
do  against  him,  I  selected  a  gerfalcon  which  I  had  at  hand; 
it  is  a  piece  of  ordnance  larger  and  longer  than  a  swivel,  and 
about  the  size  of  a  demi-culverin.  This  I  emptied,  and  loaded 
it  again  with  a  good  charge  of  fine  powder  mixed  with  the 
coarser  sort;  then  I  aimed  it  exactly  at  the  man  in  red,  ele- 
vating prodigiously,  because  a  piece  of  that  calibre  could 
hardly  be  expected  to  carry  true  at  such  a  distance.  I  fired, 
and  hit  my  man  exactly  in  the  middle.  He  had  trussed  his 
sword  in  front,  for  swagger,  after  a  way  those  Spaniards 
have;  and  my  ball,  wdien  it  struck  him,  broke  upon  the  blade, 
and  one  could  see  the  fellow  cut  in  two  fair  halves.  The 
Pope,  who  was  expecting  nothing  of  this  kind,  derived  great 
pleasure  and  amazement  from  the  sight,  both  because  it 
seemed  to  him  impossible  that  one  should  aim  and  hit  the 
mark  at  such  a  distance,  and  also  because  the  man  was  cut  in 
two,  and  he  could  not  comprehend  how  this  should  happen. 
He  sent  for  me,  and  asked  about  it.  I  explained  all  the  de- 
vices I  had  used  in  firing;  but  told  him  that  why  the  man 
was  cut  in  halves,  neither  he  nor  I  could  know.  Upon  my 
bended  knees  I  then  besought  him  to  give  me  the  pardon  of 
his  blessing  for  that  homicide;  and  for  all  the  others  I  had 
committed  in  the  castle  in  the  service  of  the  Church.  Thereat 
the  Pope,  raising  his  hand,  and  making  a  large  open  sign  of 
the  cross  upon  my  face,  told  me  that  he  blessed  me,  and  that 
he  gave  me  pardon  for  all  murders  I  had  ever  perpetrated,  or 
should  ever  perpetrate,  in  the  service  of  the  Apostolic  Church. 
When  I  left  him,  I  went  aloft,  and  never  stayed  from  firing  to 
the  utmost  of  my  power;  and  few  were  the  shots  of  mine 
that  missed  their  mark.  My  drawing,  and  my  line  studies  in 
my  craft,  and  my  charming  art  of  music,  all  were  swallowed 
up  in  the  din  of  that  artillery;  and  if  I  were  to  relate  in  detail 
all  the  splendid  things  I  did  in  that  infernal  work  of  cruelty,  I 
should  make  the  world  stand  by  and  wonder.  But,  not  to 
be  too  prolix,  I  will  pass  them  over.     Only  I  must  tell  a  few 


70  CELLINI 

of  the   most   remarkable,   which   are,   as   it   were,   forced   in 
upon  me. 

To  begin  then:  pondering  day  and  night  what  I  could 
render   for   my   own   part   in   defence   of   Holy   Church,   and 
having  noticed  that  the  enemy  changed  guard  and  marched 
past  through  the  great  gate  of  Santo  Spirito,  which  was  within 
a  reasonable  range,  I  thereupon  directed  my  attention  to  that 
spot;  but,  having  to  shoot  sideways,  I  could  not  do  the  dam- 
age that  I  wished,  although  I  killed  a  fair  percentage  every 
day.     This  induced  our  adversaries,  when  they  saw  their  pas- 
sage covered  by  my  guns,  to  load  the  roof  of  a  certain  house 
one  night  with  thirty  gabions,  which  obstructed  the  view  I 
formerly  enjoyed.     Taking  better  thought  than  I  had  done 
of  the  whole  situation,  I  now  turned  all  my  five  pieces  of  artil- 
lery directly  on  the  gabions,  and  waited  till  the  evening  hour, 
when  they  changed  guard.     Our  enemies,  thinking  they  were 
safe,  came  on  at  greater  ease  and  in  a  closer  body  than  usual ; 
whereupon  I  set  fire  to  my  blow-pipes.     Not  merely  did  I 
dash  to  pieces  the  gabions  which  stood  in  my  way;  but,  what 
was  better,  by  that  one  blast  I  slaughtered  more  than  thirty 
men.     In  consequence  of  this  manceuvre,  which   I   repeated 
twice,  the  soldiers  were  thrown  into  such  disorder,  that  being, 
moreover,  encumbered  with  the  spoils  of  that  great  sack,  and 
some  of  them  desirous  of  enjoying  the  fruits  of  their  labour, 
they  oftentimes  showed  a  mind  to  mutiny  and  take  themselves 
away  from  Rome.    However,  after  coming  to  terms  with  their 
valiant  captain,  Gian  di  Urbino,^  they  were  ultimately  com- 
pelled, at  their  excessive  inconvenience,  to  take  another  road 
when  they  changed  guard.    It  cost  them  three  miles  of  march, 
whereas  before  they  had  but  half  a  mile.     Having  achieved 
this  feat,  I  was  entreated  with  prodigious  favours  by  all  the 
men  of  quality  who  were  invested  in  the  castle.    This  incident 
was  so  important  that  I  thought  it  well  to  relate  it,  before  fin- 
ishing the  history  of  things  outside  my  art,  the  which  is  the 
real  object  of  my  writing:  forsooth,  if  I  wanted  to  ornament 
my  biography  with  such  matters.  I  should  have  far  too  much 

'  This  captain  was  a  Spaniard,  who  played  a  very  considerable  figure 
in  the  war,  distinguishing  himself  at  the  capture  of  Genoa  and  the  battle 
of  Lodi  in  1522,  and  afterward  acting  as  Lieutenant-General  to  the  Prince 
of  Orange.  He  held  Naples  against  Orazio  Baglioni  in  1528,  and  died 
before  Spello  in  1529. 


MEMOIRS 


71 


to  tell.     There  is  only  one  more  circumstance  which,  now 
that  the  occasion  offers,  I  propose  to  record. 

XXXVIII 

I  shall  skip  over  some  intervening  circumstances,  and  tell 
how  Pope  Clement,  wishing  to  save  the  tiaras  and  the  whole 
collection  of  the  great  jewels  of  the  Apostolic  Camera,  had 
me  called,  and  shut  himself  up  together  with  me  and  the  Cava- 
lierino  in  a  room  alone.  This  Cavalierino  had  been  a  groom 
in  the  stable  of  Filippo  Strozzi;  he  was  French,  and  a  person 
of  the  lowest  birth;  but  as  he  was  a  most  faithful  servant,  the 
Pope  had  made  him  very  rich,  and  confided  in  him  like  him- 
self. So  the  Pope,  the  Cavaliere,  and  I,  being  shut  up  to- 
gether, they  laid  before  me  the  tiaras  and  jewels  of  the  regalia; 
and  his  Holiness  ordered  me  to  take  all  the  gems  out  of  their 
gold  settings.  This  I  accordingly  did;  afterward  I  wrapt 
them  separately  up  in  bits  of  paper,  and  we  sewed  them  into 
the  linings  of  the  Pope's  and  the  Cavaliere's  clothes.  Then 
they  gave  me  all  the  gold,  which  weighed  about  two  hundred 
pounds,  and  bade  me  melt  it  down  as  secretly  as  I  was  able. 
I  went  up  to  the  Angel,  where  I  had  my  lodging,  and  could 
lock  the  door  so  as  to  be  free  from  interruption.  There  I  built 
a  little  draught-furnace  of  bricks,  with  a  largish  pot,  shaped 
like  an  open  dish,  at  the  bottom  of  it;  and  threw  the  gold 
upon  the  coals.  It  gradually  sank  through  and  dropped  into 
the  pan.  While  the  furnace  was  working,  I  never  left  off 
watching  how  to  annoy  our  enemies;  and  as  their  trenches 
were  less  than  a  stone's-throw  right  below  us,  I  was  able  to 
inflict  considerable  damage  on  them  with  some  useless  mis- 
siles, of  which  there  were  several  piles,  forming  the  old  muni- 
tion of  the  castle.  I  chose  a  swivel  and  a  falconet,  which 
were  both  a  little  damaged  in  the  muzzle,  and  filled  them 
with  the  projectiles  I  have  mentioned.  When  I  fired  my 
guns,  they  hurtled  down  like  mad,  occasioning  all  sorts  of 
unexpected  mischief  in  the  trenches.  Accordingly  I  kept 
these  pieces  always  going  at  the  same  time  that  the  gold  was 
being  melted  down;  and  a  little  before  vespers  I  noticed 
some  one  coming  along  the  margin  of  the  trench  on  mule- 
back.  The  mule  was  trotting  very  quickly,  and  the  man  was 
talkiny  to  the  soldiers  in  the  trenches.  I  took  the  precaution 
of  discharging  my  artillery  just  before  he  came  immediately 


72 


CELLINI 


opposite;  and  so,  making  a  good  calculation,  I  hit  my  mark. 
One  of  the  fragments  struck  him  in  the  face;  the  rest  were 
scattered  on  the  mule,  which  fell  dead.  A  tremendous  uproar 
rose  up  from  the  trench;  I  opened  fire  with  my  other  piece, 
doing  them  great  hurt.  The  man  turned  out  to  be  the  Prince 
of  Orange,  who  was  carried  through  the  trenches  to  a  certain 
tavern  in  the  neighbourhood,  whither  in  a  short  while  all  the 
chief  folk  of  the  army  came  together. 

When  Pope  Clement  heard  what  I  had  done,  he  sent  at 
once  to  call  for  me,  and  inquired  into  the  circumstance.  I 
related  the  whole,  and  added  that  the  man  must  have  been 
of  the  greatest  consequence,  because  the  inn  to  which  they 
carried  him  had  been  immediately  filled  by  all  the  chiefs 
of  the  army,  so  far  at  least  as  I  could  judge.  The  Pope,  with 
a  shrewd  instinct,  sent  for  Messer  Antonio  Santacroce,  the 
nobleman  who,  as  I  have  said,  was  chief  and  commander  of 
the  gunners.  He  bade  him  order  all  us  bombardiers  to  point 
our  pieces,  which  were  very  numerous,  in  one  mass  upon  the 
house,  and  to  discharge  them  all  together  upon  the  signal 
of  an  arquebuse  being  fired.  He  judged  that  if  we  killed  the 
generals,  the  army,  which  was  already  almost  on  the  point 
of  breaking  up,  would  take  to  flight.  God  perhaps  had  heard 
the  prayers  they  kept  continually  making,  and  meant  to  rid 
them  in  this  manner  of  those  impious  scoundrels. 

We  put  our  cannon  in  order  at  the  command  of  Santacroce, 
and  waited  for  the  signal.  But  when  Cardinal  Orsini  ^  became 
aware  of  what  was  going  forward,  he  began  to  expostulate 
with  the  Pope,  protesting  that  the  thing  by  no  means  ought 
to  happen,  seeing  they  were  on  the  point  of  concluding  an 
accommodation,  and  that  if  the  generals  were  killed,  the  rabble 
of  the  troops  without  a  leader  would  storm  the  castle  and 
complete  their  utter  ruin.  Consequently  they  could  by  no 
means  allow  the  Pope's  plan  to  be  carried  out.  The  poor 
Pope,  in  despair,  seeing  himself  assassinated  both  inside  the 
castle  and  without,  said  that  he  left  them  to  arrange  it.  On 
this,  our  orders  were  countermanded;  but  I,  who  chafed 
against  the  leash,  when  I  knew  that  they  were  coming  round 
to  bid  me  stop  from  firing,  let  blaze  one  of  my  demi-cannons, 

*  Frahciotto  Orsini  was  educated  in  the  household  of  his  kinsman 
Lorenzo  de'  Medici.  He  followed  the  profession  of  arms,  and  mrirried ; 
but  after  losing  his  wife  took  orders,  and  received  the  hat  in  1517. 


MEMOIRS  73 

and  struck  a  pillar  in  the  courtyard  of  the  house,  around 
which  I  saw  a  crowd  of  people  clustering.  This  shot  did 
such  damage  to  the  enemy  that  it  was  like  to  have  made  them 
evacuate  the  house.  Cardinal  Orsini  was  absolutely  for  hav- 
ing me  hanged  or  put  to  death;  but  the  Pope  took  up  my 
cause  with  spirit.  The  high  words  that  passed  between  them, 
though  I  well  know  what  they  were,  I  will  not  here  relate, 
because  I  make  no  profession  of  writing  history.  It  is  enough 
for  me  to  occupy  myself  with  my  own  affairs. 

XXXIX 

After  I  had  melted  down  the  gold,  I  took  it  to  the  Pope, 
who  thanked  me  cordially  for  what  I  had  done,  and  ordered 
the  Cavalierino  to  give  me  twenty-five  crowns,  apologizing 
to  me  for  his  inability  to  give  me  more.  A  few  days  after- 
ward the  articles  of  peace  were  signed.  I  went  with  three 
hundred  comrades  in  the  train  of  Signor  Orazio  Baglioni 
toward  Perugia;  and  there  he  wished  to  make  me  captain 
of  the  company,  but  I  was  unwilling  at  the  moment,  saying 
that  I  wanted  first  to  go  and  see  my  father,  and  to  redeem 
the  ban  which  was  still  in  force  against  me  at  Florence. 
Signor  Orazio  told  me  that  he  had  been  appointed  general 
of  the  Florentines;  and  Sir  Pier  Maria  del  Lotto,  the  envoy 
from  Florence,  was  with  him,  to  whom  he  specially  recom- 
mended me  as  his  man.* 

In  course  of  time  1  came  to  Florence  in  the  company  of 
several  comrades.  The  plague  was  raging  with  indescribable 
fury.  When  I  reached  home,  I  found  my  good  father,  who 
thought  either  that  I  must  have  been  killed  in  the  sack  of 
Rome,  or  else  that  I  should  come  back  to  him  a  beggar. 
However,  I  entirely  defeated  both  these  expectations;  for 
I  was  alive,  with  plenty  of  money,  a  fellow  to  wait  on  me, 
and  a  good  horse.  My  joy  on  greeting  the  old  man  was  so 
intense,  that,  while  he  embraced  and  kissed  me,  I  thought 
that  I  must  die  upon  the  spot.  After  I  had  narrated  all  the 
devilries  of  that  dreadful  sack,  and  had  given  him  a  good 
quantity  of  crowns  which  I  had  gained  by  my  soldiering,  and 

'  Pier  Maria  di  Lotto  of  S.  Miniato  was  notary  to  the  Florentine  Sig- 
noria.  He  collected  the  remnants  of  the  Bande  Nere,  and  pave  them  over 
to  Orazio  Baglioni,  who  contrived  to  escape  from  S.  Angelo  in  safety  to 
Perugia. 


74  CELLINI 

when  we  had  exchanged  our  tokens  of  aflfection,  he  went  off 
to  the  Eight  to  redeem  my  ban.  It  so  happened  that  one  of 
those  magistrates  who  sentenced  me,  was  now  again  a  mem- 
ber of  the  board.  It  was  the  very  man  who  had  so  inconsid- 
erately told  my  father  he  meant  to  march  me  out  into  the 
country  with  the  lances.  My  father  took  this  opportunity  of 
addressing  him  with  some  meaning  words,  in  order  to  mark 
his  revenge,  relying  on  the  favour  which  Orazio  Baglioni 
showed  me. 

Matters  standing  thus,  I  told  my  father  how  Signor  Orazio 
had  appointed  me  captain,  and  that  I  ought  to  begin  to  think 
of  enlisting  my  company.  At  these  words  the  poor  old  man 
was  greatly  disturbed,  and  begged  me  for  God's  sake  not  to 
turn  my  thoughts  to  such  an  enterprise,  although  he  knew 
I  should  be  fit  for  this  or  yet  a  greater  business,  adding  that  his 
other  son,  my  brother,  was  already  a  most  valiant  soldier,  and 
that  I  ought  to  pursue  the  noble  art  in  which  I  had  laboured 
so  many  years  and  with  such  diligence  of  study.  Although  I 
promised  to  obey  him,  he  reflected,  Hke  a  man  of  sense,  that 
if  Signor  Orazio  came  to  Florence,  I  could  not  withdraw 
myself  from  military  service,  partly  because  I  had  passed  my 
word,  as  well  as  for  other  reasons.  He  therefore  thought 
of  a  good  expedient  for  sending  me  away,  and  spoke  to  me 
as  follows:  "Oh,  my  dear  son,  the  plague  in  this  town  is 
raging  with  immitigable  violence,  and  I  am  always  fancying 
you  will  come  home  infected  with  it.  I  remember,  when  I 
was  a  young  man,  that  I  went  to  Mantua,  where  I  was  very 
kindly  received,  and  stayed  there  several  years.  I  pray  and 
command  you,  for  the  love  of  me,  to  pack  ofif  and  go  thither; 
and  I  would  have  you  do  this  to-day  rather  than  to-morrow." 

XL 

I  had  always  taken  pleasure  in  seeing  the  world;  and  hav- 
ing never  been  in  Mantua,  I  went  there  very  willingly.  Of 
the  money  I  had  brought  to  Florence,  I  left  the  greater  part 
with  my  good  father,  promising  to  help  him  wherever  I  might 
be,  and  confiding  him  to  the  care  of  my  elder  sister.  Her 
name  was  Cosa;  and  since  she  never  cared  to  marry,  she  was 
admitted  as  a  nun  in  Santa  Orsola;  but  she  put  oflf  taking  the 
veil,  in  order  to  keep  house  for  our  old  father,  and  to  look 
after  my  younger  sister,  who  was  married  to  one  Bartolom- 


MEMOIRS 


75 


meo,  a  surgeon.  So  then,  leaving  home  with  my  father's 
blessing,  I  mounted  my  good  horse,  and  rode  off  on  it 
to  Mantua. 

It  would  take  too  long  to  describe  that  little  journey  in  de- 
tail. The  whole  world  being  darkened  over  with  plague  and 
war,  I  had  the  greatest  difficulty  in  reaching  Mantua.  How- 
ever, in  the  end,  I  got  there,  and  looked  about  for  work  to  do, 
which  I  obtained  from  a  Maestro  Niccolo  of  Milan,  goldsmith 
to  the  Duke  of  Mantua.  Having  thus  settled  down  to  work,  I 
went  after  two  days  to  visit  Messer  Giulio  Romano,  that  most 
excellent  painter,  of  whom  I  have  already  spoken,  and  my 
very  good  friend.  He  received  me  with  the  tenderest  caresses, 
and  took  it  very  ill  that  I  had  not  dismounted  at  his  house. 
He  was  living  like  a  lord,  and  executing  a  great  work  for  the 
Duke  outside  the  city  gates,  in  a  place  called  Del  Te.  It  was 
a  vast  and  prodigious  undertaking,  as  may  still,  I  suppose,  be 
seen  by  those  who  go  there. ^ 

Messer  Giulio  lost  no  time  in  speaking  of  me  to  the  Duke 
in  terms  of  the  warmest  praise.^  That  Prince  commissioned 
me  to  make  a  model  for  a  reliquary,  to  hold  the  blood  of 
Christ,  which  they  have  there,  and  say  was  brought  them  by 
Longinus.  Then  he  turned  to  Giulio,  bidding  him  supply  me 
with  a  design  for  it.  To  this  Giulio  replied:  "  My  lord,  Ben- 
venuto  is  a  man  who  does  not  need  other  people's  sketches, 
as  your  Excellency  will  be  very  well  able  to  judge  when  you 
shall  see  his  model."  I  set  hand  to  the  work,  and  made  a 
drawing  for  the  reliquary,  well  adapted  to  contain  the  sacred 
phial.  Then  I  made  a  little  waxen  model  of  the  cover.  This 
was  a  seated  Christ,  supporting  his  great  cross  aloft  with  the 
left  hand,  while  he  seemed  to  lean  against  it,  and  with  the 
fingers  of  his  right  hand  he  appeared  to  be  opening  the  wound 
in  his  side.  When  it  was  finished,  it  pleased  the  Duke  so  much 
that  he  heaped  favours  on  me,  and  gave  me  to  understand 
that  he  would  keep  me  in  his  service  with  such  appointments 
as  should  enable  me  to  live  in  affluence. 

Meanwhile.  I  had  paid  my  duty  to  the  Cardinal  his  brother, 
who  begged  the  Duke  to  allow  me  to  make  the  pontifical  seal 

'  This  is  the  famous  Palazzo  del  Te,  outside  the  walls  of  Mantua.  It 
still  remains  the  chief  monument  of  Giulio  Romano's  versatile  genius. 

*  Federigo  Gonzago  was  at  this  time  Marquis  of  Mantua.  Charles  V 
erected  his  fief  into  a  duchy  in  1530. 


76 


CELLINI 


of  his  most  reverend  lordship.^  This  I  began;  but  while  I 
was  working  at  it  I  caught  a  quartan  fever.  During  each 
access  of  this  fever  I  was  thrown  into  dehrium,  when  I  cursed 
Mantua  and  its  master  and  whoever  stayed  there  at  his  own 
hking.  These  words  were  reported  to  the  Duke  by  the  Milan- 
ese goldsmith,  who  had  not  omitted  to  notice  that  the  Duke 
wanted  to  employ  me.  When  the  Prince  heard  the  ravings 
of  my  sickness,  he  flew  into  a  passion  against  me;  and  I  being 
out  of  temper  with  Mantua,  our  bad  feeling  was  reciprocal. 
The  seal  was  finished  after  four  months,  together  with  sev- 
eral other  little  pieces  I  made  for  the  Duke  under  the  name 
of  the  Cardinal.  His  Reverence  paid  me  well,  and  bade  me 
return  to  Rome,  to  that  marvellous  city  where  we  had  made 
acquaintance. 

I  quitted  Mantua  with  a  good  sum  of  crowns,  and  reached 
Governo,  where  the  most  valiant  general  Giovanni  had  been 
killed.^  Here  I  had  a  slight  relapse  of  fever,  which  did  not 
interrupt  my  journey,  and  coming  now  to  an  end,  it  never 
returned  on  me  again.  When  I  arrived  at  Florence,  hoping 
to  find  my  dear  father,  and  knocked  at  the  door,  a  hump- 
backed woman  in  a  fury  showed  her  face  at  the  window;  she 
drove  me  off  with  a  torrent  of  abuse,  screaming  that  the  sight 
of  me  was  a  consumption  to  her.  To  this  misshapen  hag  I 
shouted:  "  Ho!  tell  me,  cross-grained  hunchback,  is  there  no 
other  face  to  see  here  but  your  ugly* visage?  "  "  No,  and  bad 
luck  to  you."  Whereto  I  answered  in  a  loud  voice:  "  In  less 
than  two  hours  may  it  never  vex  us  more!  "  Attracted  by 
this  dispute,  a  neighbour  put  her  head  out,  from  whom  I 
learned  that  my  father  and  all  the  people  in  the  house  had  died 
of  the  plague.  As  I  had  partly  guessed  it  might  be  so,  my 
grief  was  not  so  great  as  it  would  otherwise  have  been.  The 
woman  afterward  told  me  that  only  my  sister  Liperata  had 
escaped,  and  that  she  had  taken  refuge  with  a  pious  lady 
named  Mona  Andrea  de'  Bellacci. 

I  took  my  way  from  thence  to  the  inn,  and  met  by  accident 
a  very  dear  friend  of  mine,  Giovanni  Rigogli.     Dismounting 

'  Ercole  Gonzaga,  created  Cardinal  in  1527.  After  the  death  of  his 
brother,  Duke  Federigo,  he  governed  Mantua  for  sixteen  years  as  regent 
for  his  nephews,  and  became  famous  as  a  patron  of  arts  and  letters.  He 
died  at  Trento  in  1563  while  presiding  over  the  Council  there,  in  the 
pontificate  of  Pius  IV. 

'  Giovanni  de'  Medici,  surnamed  Delle  Bande  Nere. 


MEMOIRS 


77 


at  his  house,  we  proceeded  to  the  i)iazza,  where  I  received 
intelHgence  that  my  brother  was  ahve,  and  went  to  find  him 
at  the  house  of  a  friend  of  his  called  Bertino  Aldobrandini. 
On  meeting,  we  made  demonstrations  of  the  most  passionate 
affection;  for  he  had  heard  that  I  was  dead,  and  I  had  heard 
that  he  was  dead;  and  so  our  joy  at  embracing  one  another 
was  extravagant.  Then  he  broke  out  into  a  loud  fit  of  laugh- 
ter, and  said:  "  Come,  brother,  I  will  take  you  where  I'm  sure 
you'd  never  guess!  You  must  know  that  I  have  given  our 
sister  Lipcrata  away  again  in  marriage,  and  she  holds  it  for 
absolutely  certain  that  you  are  dead."  On  our  way  we  told 
each  other  all  the  wonderful  adventures  we  had  met  with; 
and  when  we  reached  the  house  where  our  sister  dwelt,  the 
surprise  of  seeing  me  alive  threw  her  into  a  fainting  fit,  and 
she  fell  senseless  in  my  arms.  Had  not  my  brother  been 
present,  her  speechlessness  and  sudden  seizure  nuist  have 
made  her  husband  imagine  I  was  some  one  different  from  a 
brother — as  indeed  at  first  it  did.  Cecchino,  however,  ex- 
plained matters,  and  busied  himself  in  helping  the  swooning 
woman,  who  soon  came  to.  Then,  after  shedding  some  tears 
for  father,  sister,  husband,  and  a  little  son  whom  she  had  lost, 
she  began  to  get  the  supper  ready;  and  during  our  merry 
meeting  all  that  evening  we  talked  no  more  about  dead  folk, 
but  rather  discoursed  gaily  about  weddings.  Thus,  then,  with 
gladness  and  great  enjoyment  we  brought  our  supper-party 

to  an  end. 

XLI 

On  the  entreaty  of  my  brother  and  sister,  I  remained  at 
Florence,  though  my  own  inclination  led  me  to  return  to 
Rome.  The  dear  friend,  also,  who  had  helped  me  in  some  of 
my  earlier  troubles,  as  I  have  narrated  (I  mean  Piero,  son  of 
Giovanni  Landi) — he  too  advised  me  to  make  some  stay  in 
Florence;  for  the  Medici  were  in  exile,  that  is  to  say,  Signor 
Ippolito  and  Signor  Alessandro,  who  were  afterward  respect- 
ively Cardinal  and  Duke  of  Florence;  and  he  judged  it  would 
be  well  for  me  to  wait  and  see  what  happened. 

At  that  time  there  arrived  in  Florence  a  Sienese,  called 
Girolamo  Marretti,  who  had  lived  long  in  Turkey  and  was 
a  man  of  lively  intellect.  He  came  to  my  shop,  and  com- 
missioned me  to  make  a  golden  medal  to  be  worn  in  the  hat. 
The  subject  was  to  be  Hercules  wrenching  the  Uoa's  mouth. 


78 


CELLINI 


While  I  was  working  at  this  piece,  Michel  Agnolo  Buonarroti 
came  oftentimes  to  see  it.  I  had  spent  infinite  pains  upon 
the  design,  so  that  the  attitude  of  the  figure  and  the  fierce 
passion  of  the  beast  were  executed  in  quite  a  different  style 
from  that  of  any  craftsman  who  had  hitherto  attempted  such 
groups.  This,  together  with  the  fact  that  the  special  branch 
of  art  was  totally  unknown  to  Michel  Agnolo,  made  the  divine 
master  give  such  praises  to  my  work  that  I  felt  incredibly  in- 
spired for  further  effort.  However,  I  found  little  else  to  do 
but  jewel-setting;  and  though  I  gained  more  thus  than  in 
any  other  way,  yet  I  was  dissatisfied,  for  I  would  fain  have 
been  employed  upon  some  higher  task  than  that  of  setting 
precious  stones. 

Just  then  I  met  with  Federigo  Ginori,  a  young  man  of  a 
very  lofty  spirit.  He  had  lived  some  years  in  Naples,  and 
being  endowed  with  great  charms  of  person  and  presence, 
had  been  the  lover  of  a  Neapolitan  princess.  He  wanted  to 
have  a  medal  made,  with  Atlas  bearing  the  world  upon  his 
shoulders,  and  applied  to  Michel  Agnolo  for  a  design.  Michel 
Agnolo  made  this  answer:  "  Go  and  find  out  a  young  gold- 
smith named  Benvenuto;  he  will  serve  you  admirably,  and 
certainly  he  does  not  stand  in  need  of  sketches  by  me.  How- 
ever, to  prevent  your  thinking  that  I  want  to  save  myself  the 
trouble  of  so  slight  a  matter,  I  will  gladly  sketch  you  some- 
thing; but  meanwhile  speak  to  Benvenuto,  and  let  him  also 
make  a  model;  he  can  then  execute  the  better  of  the  two 
designs."  Federigo  Ginori  came  to  me,  and  told  me  what 
he  wanted,  adding  thereto  how  Michel  Agnolo  had  praised 
me,  and  how  he  had  suggested  I  should  make  a  waxen  model 
while  he  undertook  to  supply  a  sketch.  The  words  of  that 
great  man  so  heartened  me,  that  I  set  myself  to  work  at  once 
with  eagerness  upon  the  model;  and  when  I  had  finished  it,  a 
painter  who  was  intimate  with  Michel  Agnolo,  called  Giuliano 
Bugiardini,  brought  me  the  drawing  of  Atlas.^  On  the  same 
occasion  I  showed  Giuliano  my  little  model  in  wax,  which 
was  very  different  from  Michel  Agnolo's  drawing;  and 
Federigo,  in  concert  with  Bugiardini,  agreed  that  I  should 
work  upon  my  model.    So  I  took  it  in  hand,  and  when  Michel 

'  This  painter  was  the  pupil  of  Bertoldo,  a  man  of  simple  manners  and 
of  some  excellence  in  his  art.  The  gallery  at  Bologna  has  a  fine  specimen 
of  his  painting.     Michel  Agnolo  delighted  in  his  society. 


MEMOIRS 


79 


Agnolo  saw  it,  he  praised  me  to  the  skies.  This  was  a  figure, 
as  I  have  said,  chiselled  on  a  plate  of  gold;  Atlas  had  the 
heaven  upon  his  back,  made  out  of  a  crystal  ball,  engraved 
with  the  zodiac  upon  a  field  of  lapis-lazuli.  The  whole  com- 
position produced  an  indescribably  fine  effect;  and  under  it 
ran  the  legend  "  Summa  tulisse  juvat."  Federigo  was  so  thor- 
oughly well  pleased  that  he  paid  me  very  liberally.  Aluigi 
Alamanni  was  at  that  time  in  Florence.  Federigo  Ginori, 
who  enjoyed  his  friendship,  brought  him  often  to  my  work- 
shop, and  through  this  introduction  we  became  very  intimate 
together.^ 

XLII 

Pope  Clement  had  now  declared  war  upon  the  city  of 
Florence,  which  thereupon  was  put  in  a  state  of  defence; 
and  the  militia  being  organized  in  each  quarter  of  the  town, 
I  too  received  orders  to  serve  in  my  turn.  I  provided  my- 
self with  a  rich  outfit,  and  went  about  with  the  highest  nobility 
of  Florence,  who  showed  a  unanimous  desire  to  fight  for  the 
defence  of  our  liberties.  Meanwhile  the  speeches  which  are 
usual  upon  such  occasions  were  made  in  every  quarter;  the 
young  men  met  together  more  than  was  their  wont,  and  every- 
where we  had  but  one  topic  of  conversation. 

It  happened  one  day,  about  noon,  that  a  crowd  of  tall  men 
and  lusty  young  fellows,  the  first  in  the  city,  were  assembled 
in  my  workshop,  when  a  letter  from  Rome  was  put  into  my 
hands.  It  came  from  a  man  called  Maestro  Giacopino  della 
Barca.  His  real  name  was  Giacopo  della  Sciorina,  but  they 
called  him  della  Barca  in  Rome,  because  he  kept  a  ferry 
boat  upon  the  Tiber  between  Ponte  Sisto  and  Ponte  Santo 
Agnolo.  He  was  a  person  of  considerable  talent,  distin- 
guished by  his  pleasantries  and  striking  conversation,  and  he 
had  formerly  been  a  designer  of  patterns  for  the  cloth-weavers 
in  Florence.  This  man  was  intimate  with  the  Pope,  who  took 
great  pleasure  in  hearing  him  talk.  Being  one  day  engaged 
in  conversation,  they  touched  upon  the  sack  and  the  defence 
of  the  castle.     This  brought  me  to  the  Pope's  mind,  and  he 

'  This  was  the  agreeable  didactic  poet  Luigi  Alamanni,  who  had  to  fly 
from  Florence  after  a  conspiracy  against  Cardinal  Giulio  de'  Medici  in 
1522.  He  could  never  reconcile  himself  to  the  Medicean  tyranny,  and 
finally  took  refuge  in  France,  where  he  was  honoured  by  Francis  I.  He 
died  at  Amboise  in  1556. 


8o  CELLINI 

spoke  of  me  in  the  very  highest  terms,  adding  that  if  he  knew 
where  I  was,  he  should  be  glad  to  get  me  back.  Maestro 
Giacopo  said  I  was  in  Florence;  whereupon  the  Pope  bade 
the  man  write  and  tell  me  to  return  to  him.  The  letter  I  have 
mentioned  was  to  the  effect  that  I  should  do  well  if  I  resumed 
the  service  of  Clement,  and  that  this  was  sure  to  turn  out  to 
my  advantage. 

The  young  men  who  were  present  were  curious  to  know 
what  the  letter  contained;  wherefore  I  concealed  it  as  well 
as  I  could.  Afterward  I  wrote  to  Maestro  Giacopo,  begging 
him  by  no  means,  whether  for  good  or  evil,  to  write  to  me 
again.  He  however  grew  more  obstinate  in  his  ofBciousness, 
and  wrote  me  another  letter,  so  extravagantly  worded,  that 
if  it  had  been  seen,  I  should  have  got  into  serious  trouble. 
The  substance  of  it  was  that  the  Pope  required  me  to  come 
at  once,  wanting  to  employ  me  on  work  of  the  greatest  con- 
sequence; also  that  if  I  wished  to  act  aright,  I  ought  to  throw 
up  everything,  and  not  to  stand  against  a  Pope  in  the  party 
of  those  hare-brained  Radicals.  This  letter,  when  I  read  it, 
put  me  in  such  a  fright,  that  I  went  to  seek  my  dear  friend 
Piero  Landi.  Directly  he  set  eyes  on  me,  he  asked  what 
accident  had  happened  to  upset  me  so.  I  told  my  friend  that 
it  was  quite  impossible  for  me  to  explain  what  lay  upon  my 
mind,  and  what  was  causing  me  this  trouble;  only  I  entreated 
him  to  take  the  keys  I  gave  him,  and  to  return  the  gems  and 
gold  in  my  drawers  to  such  and  such  persons,  whose  names 
he  would  find  inscribed  upon  my  memorandum-book;  next, 
I  begged  him  to  pack  up  the  furniture  of  my  house,  and  keep 
account  of  it  with  his  usual  loving  kindness;  and  in  a  few 
days  he  should  hear  where  I  was.  The  prudent  young  man, 
guessing  perhaps  pretty  nearly  how  the  matter  stood,  replied: 
"  My  brother,  go  your  ways  quickly;  then  write  to  me,  and 
have  no  further  care  about  your  things."  I  did  as  he  advised. 
He  was  the  most  loyal  friend,  the  wisest,  the  most  worthy,  the 
most  discreet,  the  most  affectionate  that  I  have  ever  known. 
I  left  Florence  and  went  to  Rome,  and  from  there  I  wrote 

to  him. 

XLin 

Upon  my  arrival  in  Rome,  I  found  several  of  my  former 
friends,  by  whom  I  was  very  well  received  and  kindly  enter- 
tained.    No  time  was  lost  before  I   set  myself  to  work  at 


MEMOIRS  8l 

things  which  brought  me  profit,  but  were  not  notable  enough 
to  be  described.  There  was  a  fine  old  man,  a  goldsmith, 
called  Raffaello  del  Moro,  who  had  considerable  reputation 
in  the  trade,  and  was  to  boot  a  very  worthy  fellow.  He  begged 
me  to  consent  to  enter  his  workshop,  saying  he  had  some 
commissions  of  importance  to  execute,  on  which  high  profits 
might  be  looked  for;  so  I  accepted  his  proposal  with  good- 
will. 

More  than  ten  days  had  elapsed,  and  I  had  not  presented 
myself  to  Maestro  Giacopino  della  Barca.  Meeting  me  one 
day  by  accident,  he  gave  me  a  hearty  welcome,  and  asked 
me  how  long  I  had  been  in  Rome.  When  I  told  him  I  had 
been  there  about  a  fortnight,  he  took  it  very  ill,  and  said  that 
I  showed  little  esteem  for  a  Pope  who  had  urgently  compelled 
him  to  write  three  times  for  me.  I,  who  had  taken  his  persist- 
ence in  the  matter  still  more  ill,  made  no  reply,  but  swallowed 
down  my  irritation.  The  man,  who  suffered  from  a  flux  of 
words,  began  one  of  his  long  yarns,  and  went  on  talking,  till 
at  the  last,  when  I  saw  him  tired  out,  I  merely  said  that  he 
might  bring  me  to  the  Pope  when  he  saw  fit.  He  answered 
that  any  time  would  do  for  him;  and  I,  that  I  was  always 
ready.  So  we  took  our  way  toward  the  palace.  It  was  a 
Maundy  Thursday;  and  when  we  reached  the  apartments  of 
the  Pope,  he  being  known  there  and  I  expected,  we  were  at 
once  admitted. 

The  Pope  was  in  bed,  suffering  from  a  slight  indisposition, 
and  he  had  with  him  Messer  Jacopo  Salviati  and  the  Arch- 
bishop of  Capua.^  When  the  Pope  set  eyes  on  me,  he  was 
exceedingly  glad.  I  kissed  his  feet,  and  then,  as  humbly 
as  I  could,  drew  near  to  him,  and  let  him  understand  that 
I  had  things  of  consequence  to  utter.  On  this  he  waved 
his  hand,  and  the  two  prelates  retired  to  a  distance  from  us. 
I  began  at  once  to  speak :  "  Most  blessed  Father,  from  the 
time  of  the  sack  up  to  this  hour,  I  have  never  been  able  to 
confess  or  to  communicate,  because  they  refuse  me  absolu- 
tion. The  case  is  this.  When  I  melted  down  the  gold  and 
worked  at  the  unsetting  of  those  jewels,  your  Holiness  ordered 
the  Cavalierino  to  give  me  a  modest  reward  for  my  labours, 

'  Nicolas  Schomberg,  a  learned  Dominican  and  disciple  of  Savonarola, 
made  Archbishop  of  Capua  in  1520.     He  was  a  faithful  and  able  minister 
of  Clement.     Paul  III  gave  him  the  hat  in  1535,  and  he  died  in  1537. 
6 


82  CELLINI 

of  which  I  received  nothing,  but  on  the  contrary  he  rather 
paid  me  with  abuse.  When  then  I  ascended  to  the  cham- 
ber where  I  had  melted  down  the  gold,  and  washed  the  ashes, 
I  found  about  a  pound  and  a  half  of  gold  in  tiny  grains  like 
millet-seeds;  and  inasmuch  as  I  had  not  money  enough  to 
take  me  home  respectably,  I  thought  I  would  avail  myself  of 
this,  and  give  it  back  again  when  opportunity  should  offer. 
Now  I  am  here  at  the  feet  of  your  Holiness,  who  is  the  only 
true  confessor.  I  entreat  you  to  do  me  the  favour  of  granting 
me  indulgence,  so  that  I  may  be  able  to  confess  and  communi- 
cate, and  by  the  grace  of  your  Holiness  regain  the  grace  of 
my  Lord  God."  Upon  this  the  Pope,  with  a  scarcely  per- 
ceptible sigh,  remembering  perhaps  his  former  trials,  spoke 
as  follows:  "  Benvenuto,  I  thoroughly  believe  what  you  tell 
me;  it  is  in  my  power  to  absolve  you  of  any  unbecoming 
deed  you  may  have  done,  and,  what  is  more,  I  have  the  will. 
So,  then,  speak  out  with  frankness  and  perfect  confidence;  for 
if  you  had  taken  the  value  of  a  whole  tiara,  I  am  quite  ready 
to  pardon  you."  Thereupon  I  answered:  "  I  took  nothing, 
most  blessed  Father,  but  what  I  have  confessed;  and  this  did 
not  amount  to  the  value  of  140  ducats,  for  that  was  the  sum 
I  received  from  the  Mint  in  Perugia,  and  with  it  I  went  home 
to  comfort  my  poor  old  father."  The  Pope  said:  "  Your 
father  has  been  as  virtuous,  good,  and  worthy  a  man  as  was 
ever  born,  and  you  have  not  degenerated  from  him.  I  am 
very  sorry  that  the  money  was  so  little;  but  such  as  you  say 
it  was,  I  make  you  a  present  of  it,  and  give  you  my  full  pardon. 
Assure  your  confessor  of  this,  if  there  is  nothing  else  upon 
your  conscience  which  concerns  me.  Afterward,  when  you 
have  confessed  and  communicated,  you  shall  present  your- 
self to  me  again,  and  it  will  be  to  your  advantage." 

When  I  parted  from  the  Pope,  Messer  Giacopo  and  the 
Archbishop  approached,  and  the  Pope  spoke  to  them  in  the 
highest  terms  imaginable  about  me;  he  said  that  he  had 
confessed  and  absolved  me;  then  he  commissioned  the  Arch- 
bishop of  Capua  to  send  for  me  and  ask  if  I  had  any  other 
need  beyond  this  matter,  giving  him  full  leave  to  absolve  me 
amply,  and  bidding  him,  moreover,  treat  me  with  the  utmost 
kindness. 

While  I  was  walking  away  with  Maestro  Giacopino,  he 
asked  me  very  inquisitively  what  was  the  close  and  lengthy 


MEMOIRS 


83 


conversation  I  had  had  with  his  HoHness.  After  he  had  re- 
peated the  question  more  than  twice,  I  said  that  I  did  not 
mean  to  tell  him,  because  they  were  matters  with  which  he 
had  nothing  to  do,  and  therefore  he  need  not  go  on  asking 
me.  Then  I  went  to  do  what  had  been  agreed  on  with  the 
Pope;  and  after  the  two  festivals  were  over,  I  again  presented 
myself  before  his  Holiness.  He  received  me  even  better 
than  before,  and  said:  "  If  you  had  come  a  little  earlier  to 
Rome,  I  should  have  commissioned  you  to  restore  my  two 
tiaras,  which  were  pulled  to  pieces  in  the  castle.  These,  how- 
ever, with  the  exception  of  the  gems,  are  objects  of  little  artis- 
tic interest;  so  I  will  employ  you  on  a  piece  of  the  very  great- 
est consequence,  where  you  will  be  able  to  exhibit  all  your 
talents.  It  is  a  button  for  my  priest's  cope,  which  has  to  be 
made  round  like  a  trencher,  and  as  big  as  a  little  trencher, 
one-third  of  a  cubit  wide.  Upon  this  I  want  you  to  represent 
a  God  the  Father  in  half-relief,  and  in  the  middle  to  set  that 
magnificent  big  diamond,  which  you  remember,  together  with 
several  other  gems  of  the  greatest  value.  Caradosso  began 
to  make  me  one,  but  did  not  finish  it;  I  want  yours  to  be 
finished  quickly,  so  that  I  may  enjoy  the  use  of  it  a  little 
while.  Go,  then,  and  make  me  a  fine  model."  He  had  all  the 
jewels  shown  me,  and  then  I  went  off  like  a  shot  to  set  myself 

to  work. 

XLIV 

During  the  time  when  Florence  was  besieged,  Federigo 
Ginori,  for  whom  I  made  that  medal  of  Atlas,  died  of  con- 
sumption, and  the  medal  came  into  the  hands  of  Messer 
Luigi  Alamanni,  who,  after  a  little  while,  took  it  to  present 
in  person  to  Francis,  King  of  France,  accompanied  by  some 
of  his  own  finest  compositions.  The  King  was  exceedingly 
delighted  with  the  gift;  w^hereupon  Messer  Luigi  told  his 
Majesty  so  much  about  my  personal  qualities,  as  well  as  my 
art,  and  spoke  so  favourably,  that  the  King  expressed  a  wish 
to  know  me. 

Meanwhile  I  pushed  my  model  for  the  button  forward 
with  all  the  diligence  I  could,  constructing  it  exactly  of  the 
size  which  the  jewel  itself  was  meant  to  have.  In  the  trade 
of  the  goldsmiths  it  roused  considerable  jealousy  among  those 
who  thought  that  they  were  capable  of  matching  it.  A  certain 
Micheletto  had  just  come  to  Rome;  he  was  very  clever  at 


84  CELLINI 

engraving  cornelians,  and  was,  moreover,  a  most  intelligent 
jeweller,  an  old  man  and  of  great  celebrity.  He  had  been  em- 
ployed upon  the  Pope's  tiaras;  and  while  I  was  working  at 
my  model,  he  wondered  much  that  I  had  not  applied  to  him, 
being  as  he  was  a  man  of  intelligence  and  of  large  credit  with 
the  Pope.  At  last,  when  lie  saw  that  I  was  not  coming  to 
him,  he  came  to  me,  and  asked  me  what  I  was  about.  "  What 
the  Pope  has  ordered  me,"  I  answered.  Then  he  said:  "  The 
Pope  has  commissioned  me  to  superintend  everything  which 
is  being  made  for  his  Holiness."  I  only  replied  that  I  would 
ask  the  Pope,  and  then  should  know  what  answer  I  ought  to 
give  him.  He  told  me  that  I  should  repent,  and  departing  in 
anger,  had  an  interview  wdth  all  the  masters  of  the  art;  they 
deliberated  on  the  matter,  and  charged  Michele  with  the  con- 
duct of  the  whole  afifair.  As  was  to  be  expected  from  a  person 
of  his  talents,  he  ordered  more  than  thirty  drawings  to  be 
made,  all  differing  in  their  details,  for  the  piece  the  Pope  had 
commissioned. 

Having  already  access  to  his  Holiness's  ear,  he  took  into 
his  counsel  another  jeweller,  named  Pompeo,  a  Milanese,  who 
was  in  favour  with  the  Pope,  and  related  to  Messer  Traiano, 
the  first  chamberlain  of  the  court;  these  two  together,  then, 
began  to  insinuate  that  they  had  seen  my  model,  and  did  not 
think  me  up  to  a  work  of  such  extraordinary  import.  The 
Pope  replied  that  he  would  also  have  to  see  it,  and  that  if  he 
then  found  me  unfit  for  the  purpose,  he  should  look  around 
for  one  who  was  fit.  Both  of  them  put  in  that  they  had  sev- 
eral excellent  designs  ready;  to  which  the  Pope  made  an- 
swer, that  he  was  very  pleased  to  hear  it,  but  that  he  did  not 
care  to  look  at  them  till  I  had  completed  my  model;  after- 
ward, he  would  take  them  all  into  consideration  at  the  same 
time. 

After  a  few  days  I  finished  my  model,  and  took  it  to  the 
Pope  one  morning,  when  Messer  Traiano  made  me  wait  till 
he  had  sent  for  Micheletto  and  Pompeo,  bidding  them  make 
haste  and  bring  their  drawings.  On  their  arrival  we  were 
introduced,  and  Micheletto  and  Pompeo  immediately  unrolled 
their  papers,  which  the  Pope  inspected.  The  draughtsmen 
who  had  been  employed  were  not  in  the  jeweller's  trade,  and 
therefore  knew  nothing  about  giving  their  right  places  to 
precious   stones;  and   the  jewellers,   on   their  side,   had  not 


MEMOIRS  85 

shown  them  how;  for  I  oiiglit  to  say  that  a  jeweller,  wiien 
he  has  to  work  witii  figures,  must  of  necessity  understand 
design,  else  he  can  not  produce  anything  worth  looking  at: 
and  so  it  turned  out  that  all  of  them  had  stuck  that  famous 
diamond  in  the  middle  of  the  breast  of  God  the  Father.  The 
Pope,  who  was  an  excellent  connoisseur,  observing  this  mis- 
take, approved  of  none  of  them;  and  when  he  had  looked  at 
about  ten,  he  flung  the  rest  down,  and  said  to  me,  who  was 
standing  at  a  distance:  "  Now  show  me  your  model,  Ben- 
venuto,  so  that  I  may  see  if  you  have  made  the  same  mistake 
as  those  fellows."  I  came  forward,  and  opened  a  little  round 
box;  whereupon  one  would  have  thought  that  a  light  from 
heaven  had  struck  the  Pope's  eyes.  He  cried  aloud:  "  If  you 
had  been  in  my  own  body,  you  could  not  have  done  it  better, 
as  this  proves.  Those  men  there  have  found  the  right  way 
to  bring  shame  upon  themselves!"  A  crowd  of  great  lords 
pressing  round,  the  Pope  pointed  out  the  difiference  between 
my  model  and  the  drawings.  When  he  had  suf^ciently  com- 
mended it,  the  others  standing  terrified  and  stupid  before  him, 
he  turned  to  me  and  said:  "  I  am  only  afraid  of  one  thing,  and 
that  is  of  the  utmost  consequence.  Friend  Benvenuto,  wax 
is  easy  to  work  in;  the  real  difficulty  is  to  execute  this  in 
gold."  To  those  words  I  answered  without  a  moment's  hesi- 
tation :  "  Most  blessed  Father,  if  I  do  not  work  it  ten  times 
better  than  the  model,  let  it  be  agreed  beforehand  that  you 
pay  me  nothing."  When  they  heard  this,  the  noblemen  made 
a  great  stir,  crying  out  that  I  was  promising  too  much. 
Among  them  was  an  eminent  philosopher,  who  spoke  out  in 
my  favour:  "  From  the  fine  physiognomy  and  bodily  symme- 
try which  I  observe  in  this  young  man,  I  predict  that  he  will 
accomplish  what  he  says,  and  think  that  he  will  even  go  be- 
yond it."  The  Pope  put  in:  "And  this  is  my  opinion  also." 
Then  he  called  his  chamberlain,  Mcsser  Traiano,  and  bade 
him  bring  five  hundred  golden  ducats  of  the  Camera. 

While  we  were  waiting  for  the  money,  the  Pope  turned 
once  more  to  gaze  at  leisure  on  the  dexterous  device  I  had 
employed  for  combining  the  diamond  with  the  figure  of  God 
the  Father.  I  had  put  the  diamond  exactly  in  the  centre  of 
the  piece;  and  above  it  God  the  Father  was  shown  seated, 
leaning  nobly  in  a  sideways  attitude,  which  made  a  perfect 
composition,   and   did  not  interfere  with   the  stone's  effect. 


86  CELLINI 

Lifting  his  right  hand,  he  was  in  the  act  of  giving  the  bene- 
diction. Below  the  diamond  I  had  placed  three  children, 
who,  with  their  arms  upraised,  were  supporting  the  jewel. 
One  of  them,  in  the  middle,  was  in  full  relief,  the  other  two 
in  half-relief.  All  round  I  set  a  crowd  of  cherubs,  in  divers 
attitudes,  adapted  to  the  other  gems.  A  mantle  undulated 
to  the  wind  around  the  figure  of  the  Father,  from  the  folds 
of  which  cherubs  peeped  out;  and  there  were  other  ornaments 
besides  which  made  a  very  beautiful  effect.  The  work  was 
executed  in  white  stucco  on  a  black  stone.  When  the  money 
came,  the  Pope  gave  it  me  with  his  own  hand,  and  begged  me 
in  the  most  winning  terms  to  let  him  have  it  finished  in  his 
own  days,  adding  that  this  should  be  to  my  advantage. 

XLV 

I  took  the  money  and  the  model  home,  and  was  in  the 
utmost  impatience  to  begin  my  work.  After  I  had  laboured 
diligently  for  eight  days,  the  Pope  sent  word  by  one  of  his 
chamberlains,  a  very  great  gentleman  of  Bologna,  that  I  was 
to  come  to  him  and  bring  what  I  had  got  in  hand.  On  the 
way,  the  chamberlain,  who  was  the  most  gentle-mannered 
person  in  the  Roman  court,  told  me  that  the  Pope  not  only 
wanted  to  see  what  I  was  doing,  but  also  intended  to  intrust 
me  with  another  task  of  the  highest  consequence,  which  was, 
in  fact,  to  furnish  dies  for  the  money  of  the  Mint;  and  bade 
me  arm  myself  beforehand  with  the  answer  I  should  give; 
in  short,  he  wished  me  to  be  prepared,  and  therefore  he  had 
spoken.  When  we  came  into  the  presence,  I  lost  no  time  in 
exhibiting  the  golden  plate,  upon  which  I  had  as  yet  carved 
nothing  but  my  figure  of  God  the  Father;  but  this,  though 
only  in  the  rough,  displayed  a  grander  style  than  that  of  the 
waxen  model.  The  Pope  regarded  it  with  stupefaction,  and 
exclaimed:  "  From  this  moment  forward  I  will  believe  every- 
thing you  say."  Then  loading  me  with  marks  of  favour,  he 
added:  "It  is  my  intention  to  give  you  another  commission, 
which,  if  you  feel  competent  to  execute  it,  I  shall  have  no  less 
at  heart  than  this,  or  more."  He  proceeded  to  tell  me  that  he 
wished  to  make  dies  for  the  coinage  of  his  realm,  and  asked 
me  if  I  had  ever  tried  my  hand  at  such  things,  and  if  I  had 
the  courage  to  attempt  them.  I  answered  that  of  courage  for 
the  task  I  had  no  lack,  and  that  I  had  seen  how  dies  were 


MEMOIRS 


87 


made,  but  that  I  had  not  ever  made  any.  There  was  in  the 
presence  a  certain  Messer  Tommaso,  of  Prato,  his  HoUness's 
Datary;^  and  this  man,  being  a  friend  of  my  enemies,  put 
in:  "  Most  blessed  Father,  the  favours  you  are  showering 
upon  this  young  man  (and  he  by  nature  so  extremely  over- 
bold) are  enough  to  make  him  promise  you  a  new  world.  You 
have  already  given  him  one  great  task,  and  now,  by  adding 
a  greater,  you  are  like  to  make  them  clash  together."  The 
Pope,  in  a  rage,  turned  round  on  him,  and  told  him  to  mind 
his  own  business.  Then  he  commanded  me  to  make  the  model 
for  a  broad  doubloon  of  gold,  upon  which  he  wanted  a  naked 
Christ  with  his  hands  tied,  and  the  inscription  "  Ecce  Homo;  " 
the  reverse  was  to  have  a  Pope  and  Emperor  in  the  act  to- 
gether of  propping  up  a  cross  which  seemed  to  fall,  and  this 
legend:  "  Unus  spiritus  et  una  fides  erat  in  eis." 

After  the  Pope  had  ordered  this  handsome  coin,  Bandinello 
the  sculptor  came  up;  he  had  not  yet  been  made  a  knight; 
and,  with  his  wonted  presumption  muffled  up  in  ignorance, 
said:  "For  these  goldsmiths  one  must  make  drawings  for 
such  fine  things  as  that."  I  turned  round  upon  him  in  a 
moment,  and  cried  out  that  I  did  not  want  his  drawings  for 
my  art,  but  that  I  hoped  before  very  long  to  give  his  art  some 
trouble  by  my  drawings.  The  Pope  expressed  high  satis- 
faction at  these  words,  and  turning  to  me  said :  "  Go  then,  my 
Benvenuto,  and  devote  yourself  with  spirit  to  my  service,  and 
do  not  lend  an  ear  to  the  chattering  of  these  silly  fellows." 

So  I  went  off,  and  very  quickly  made  two  dies  of  steel;  then 
I  stamped  a  coin  in  gold,  and  one  Sunday  after  dinner  took  the 
coin  and  the  dies  to  the  Pope,  who,  when  he  saw  the  piece, 
was  astonished  and  greatly  gra'tified,  not  only  because  my 
work  pleased  him  excessively,  but  also  because  of  the  rapidity 
with  which  I  had  performed  it.  For  the  further  satisfaction 
and  amazement  of  his  Holiness,  I  had  brought  with  me  all 
the  old  coins  which  in  former  times  had  been  made  by  those 
able  men  who  served  Popes  Giulio  and  Leo;  and  when  I  no- 
ticed that  mine  pleased  him  far  better,  I  drew  forth  from  my 

'  His  full  name  was  Tommaso  Cortese.  The  Papal  Datario  was  the 
chief  secretary  of  the  office  for  requests,  petitions,  and  patents.  His  title 
was  derived  from  its  being:  his  duty  to  affix  the  Datum  Romae  to  docu- 
ments. The  fees  of  this  office,  which  was  also  called  Datario,  brought  in 
a  large  revenue  to  the  Papacy. 


88  CELLINI 

bosom  a  patent,  in  which  I  prayed  for  the  post  of  stamp- 
master  in  the  Mint.  This  place  was  worth  six  golden  crowns 
a  month,  in  addition  to  the  dies,  which  were  paid  at  the  rate 
of  a  ducat  for  three  by  the  Master  of  the  Mint.  The  Pope 
took  my  patent  and  handed  it  to  the  Datary,  telling  him  to  lose 
no  time  in  despatching  the  business.  The  Datary  began  to 
put  it  in  his  pocket,  saying:  "  Most  blessed  Father,  your  Holi- 
ness ought  not  to  go  so  fast ;  these  are  matters  which  deserve 
some  reflection."  To  this  the  Pope  replied:  "I  have  heard 
what  you  have  got  to  say;  give  me  here  that  patent."  He 
took  it,  and  signed  it  at  once  with  his  own  hand;  then,  giving 
it  back,  added:  "  Now,  you  have  no  answer  left;  see  that  you 
despatch  it  at  once,  for  this  is  my  pleasure;  and  Benvenuto's 
shoes  are  worth  more  than  the  eyes  of  all  those  other  block- 
heads." So,  having  thanked  his  Holiness,  I  went  back,  re- 
joicing above  measure,  to  my  work. 

XLVI 

I  was  still  working  in  the  shop  of  Raflfaello  del  Moro. 
This  worthy  man  had  a  very  beautiful  young  daughter,  with 
regard  to  whom  he  had  designs  on  me;  and  I,  becoming 
partly  aware  of  his  intentions,  was  very  willing;  but,  while 
indulging  such  desires,  I  made  no  show  of  them:  on  the 
contrary,  I  was  so  discreet  in  my  behaviour  that  I  made  him 
wonder.  It  so  happened  that  the  poor  girl  was  attacked  by  a 
disorder  in  her  right  hand,  which  ate  into  the  two  bones  be- 
longing to  the  little  linger  and  the  next.  Owing  to  her  father's 
carelessness,  she  had  been  treated  by  an  ignorant  quack- 
doctor,  who  predicted  that  the  poor  child  would  be  crippled 
in  the  whole  of  her  right  arm,  if  even  nothing  worse  should 
happen.  When  I  noticed  the  dismay  of  her  father,  I  begged 
him  not  to  believe  all  that  this  ignorant  doctor  had  said.  He 
replied  that  he  had  no  acquaintance  with  physicians  or  with 
surgeons,  and  entreated  me,  if  I  knew  of  one,  to  bring  him 
to  the  house.  I  sent  at  once  for  a  certain  Maestro  Giacomo 
of  Perugia,  a  man  of  great  skill  in  surgery,  who  examined  the 
poor  girl.^     She  was  dreadfully  frightened,  through  having 

'  Giacomo  Rastelli  was  a  native  of  Rimini,  but  was  popularly  known 
as  of  Perugia,  since  he  had  resided  long  in  that  city.  He  was  a  famous 
surgeon  under  several  Popes  until  the  year  1566,  when  he  died  at  Rome, 
aged  seventy-five. 


MEMOIRS  89 

gained  some  inkling  of  the  (juack's  predictions;  whereas,  my 
intelligent  doctor  declared  that  she  would  suffer  nothing  of 
conseciuence,  and  would  be  very  well  able  to  use  her  right 
hand;  also  that  though  the  two  last  fingers  must  remain  some- 
what weaker  than  the  others,  this  would  be  of  no  inconven- 
ience at  all  to  her.  So  he  began  his  treatment;  and  after  a 
few  days,  when  he  was  going  to  extract  a  portion  of  the  dis- 
eased bones,  her  father  called  for  me,  and  begged  me  to  be 
present  at  the  operation.  Maestro  Giacomo  was  using  some 
coarse  steel  instruments;  and  when  I  observed  tliat  he  was 
making  little  way  and  at  the  same  time  was  inflicting  severe 
pain  on  the  patient,  I  begged  him  to  stop  and  wait  half  a 
quarter  of  an  hour  for  me.  I  ran  into  the  shop,  and  made  a 
little  scalping-iron  of  steel,  extremely  thin  and  curved;  it  cut 
like  a  razor.  On  my  return,  the  surgeon  used  it,  and  began 
to  work  with  so  gentle  a  hand  that  she  felt  no  pain,  and  in  a 
short  while  the  operation  was  over.  In  consequence  of  this 
service,  and  for  other  reasons,  the  worthy  man  conceived  for 
me  as  much  love,  or  more,  as  he  had  for  two  male  children; 
and  in  the  meanwhile  he  attended  to  the  cure  of  his  beautiful 
young  daughter. 

I  was  on  terms  of  the  closest  intimacy  with  one  Messer 
Giovanni  Gaddi,  who  was  a  clerk  of  the  Camera,  and  a  great 
connoisseur  of  the  arts,  although  he  had  no  practical  acquaint- 
ance with  any.  In  his  household  were  a  certain  Messer  Gio- 
vanni, a  Greek  of  eminent  learning,  Messer  Lodovico  of  Fano, 
no  less  distinguished  as  a  man  of  letters,  Messer  Antonio 
Allegrctti,  and  Messer  Annibalc  Caro,^  at  that  time  in  his 
early  manhood.  Messer  Bastiano  of  Venice,  a  most  excel- 
lent painter,  and  I  were  admitted  to  their  society;  and  almost 
every  day  we  met  together  in  Messer  Giovanni's  company.^ 

Being  aware  of  this  intimacy,  the  worthy  goldsmith  Raf- 
faello  said  to  Messer  Giovanni:  "Good  sir,  you  know  me; 

'  Some  poems  of  Allegretti's  survive.  He  was  a  man  of  mark  in  the 
literary  society  of  the  age.  Giovanni  Greco  may  have  been  a  Giovanni 
Vergezio,  v?ho  presented  Duke  Cosimo  writh  some  Greek  characters  of 
exquisite  finish.  Lodovico  da  Fano  is  mentioned  as  an  excellent  Latin 
scholar.  Annibale  Caro  was  one  of  the  most  distinguished  writers  of 
Italian  prose  and  verse  in  the  later  Renaissance.  He  spent  the  latter 
portion  of  his  life  in  the  service  of  the  Farnesi. 

*  Messer  Bastiano  is  the  celebrated  painter  Sebastian  del  Piombo,  born 
14S5,  died  1547. 


90 


CELLINI 


now  I  want  to  marry  my  daughter  to  Benvenuto,  and  can 
think  of  no  better  intermediary  than  your  worship.  So  1  am 
come  to  crave  your  assistance,  and  to  beg  you  to  name  for 
her  such  dowry  from  my  estate  as  you  may  think  suitable." 
The  hght-headed  man  hardly  let  my  good  friend  finish  what 
he  had  to  say,  before  he  put  in  quite  at  random:  "Talk  no 
more  about  it,  RafTaello;  you  are  farther  from  your  object 
than  January  from  mulberries."  The  poor  man,  utterly  dis- 
couraged, looked  about  at  once  for  another  husband  for  his 
girl;  while  she  and  the  mother  and  all  the  family  lived  on 
in  a  bad  humour  with  me.  Since  I  did  not  know  the  real 
cause  of  this — I  imagined  they  were  paying  me  with  bastard 
coin  for  the  many  kindnesses  I  had  shown  them — I  conceived 
the  thought  of  opening  a  workshop  of  my  own  in  their  neigh- 
bourhood. Messer  Giovanni  told  me  nothing  till  the  girl 
was  married,  which  happened  in  a  few  months. 

Meanwhile,  I  laboured  assiduously  at  the  work  I  was 
doing  for  the  Pope,  and  also  in  the  service  of  the  Mint;  for 
his  Holiness  had  ordered  another  coin,  of  the  value  of  two 
carlins,  on  which  his  own  portrait  was  stamped,  while  the 
reverse  bore  a  figure  of  Christ  upon  the  waters,  holding  out 
his  hand  to  S.  Peter,  with  this  inscription:  "  Quare  dubitasti?  " 
My  design  won  such  applause  that  a  certain  secretary  of  the 
Pope,  a  man  of  the  greatest  talent,  called  II  Sanga,^  was 
moved  to  this  remark :  "  Your  Holiness  can  boast  of  having 
a  currency  superior  to  any  of  the  ancients  in  all  their  glory." 
The  Pope  replied:  "Benvenuto,  for  his  part,  can  boast  of 
serving  an  emperor  like  me,  who  is  able  to  discern  his  merit." 
I  went  on  at  my  great  piece  in  gold,  showing  it  frequently  to 
the  Pope,  who  was  very  eager  to  see  it,  and  each  time  ex- 
pressed greater  admiration. 

XLVII 

My  brother,  at  this  period,  was  also  in  Rome,  serving  Duke 
Alessandro,  on  whom  the  Pope  had  recently  conferred  the 
Duchy  of  Penna.  This  prince  kept  in  his  service  a  multitude 
of  soldiers,  worthy  fellows,  brought  up  to  valour  in  the  school 

'  Battista  Sanga,  a  Roman,  secretary  to  Gianmatteo  Giberti,  the  good 
Archbishop  of  Verona,  and  afterward  to  Clement  VII.  He  was  a  great 
Latinist,  and  one  of  those  ecclesiastics  who  earnestly  desired  a  reform  of 
the  Church.     He  died,  poisoned,  at  an  early  age. 


MEMOIRS  91 

of  that  famous  general  Giovanni  de*  Medici ;  and  among  these 
was  my  brother,  whom  the  Duke  esteemed  as  highly  as  the 
bravest  of  them.  One  day  my  brother  went  after  dinner  to 
the  shop  of  a  man  called  Baccino  della  Croce  in  the  Banchi, 
which  all  those  men-at-arms  frequented.  He  had  flung  him- 
self upon  a  settee,  and  was  sleeping.  Just  then  the  guard  of 
the  Bargello  passed  by;  ^  they  were  taking  to  prison  a  certain 
Captain  Cisti,  a  Lombard,  who  had  also  been  a  member  of 
Giovanni's  troop,  but  was  not  in  the  service  of  the  Duke.  The 
captain,  Cattivanza  degli  Strozzi,  chanced  to  be  in  the  same 
shop;  and  when  Cisti  caught  sight  of  him,  he  whispered: 
"  I  was  bringing  you  those  crowns  I  owed;  if  you  want  them, 
come  for  them  before  they  go  with  me  to  prison."  Now  Catti- 
vanza had  a  way  of  putting  his  neighbours  to  the  push,  not 
caring  to  hazard  his  own  person.  So,  finding  there  around 
him  several  young  fellow^s  of  the  highest  daring,  more  eager 
than  apt  for  so  serious  an  enterprise,  he  bade  them  catch  up 
Captain  Cisti  and  get  the  money  from  him,  and  if  the  guard 
resisted,  overpower  the  men,  provided  they  had  pluck  enough 
to  do  so. 

The  young  men  were  but  four,  and  all  four  of  them  without 
a  beard.  The  first  was  called  Bertino  Aldobrandi.  another 
Anguillotto  of  Lucca;  I  can  not  recall  the  names  of  the  rest. 
Bertino  had  been  trained  like  a  pupil  by  my  brother;  and 
my  brother  felt  the  most  unbounded  love  for  him.  So  then, 
of?  dashed  the  four  brave  lads,  and  came  up  with  the  guard 
of  the  Bargello — upward  of  fifty  constables,  counting  pikes, 
arquebuses,  and  two-handed  swords.  After  a  few  words  they 
drew  their  weapons,  and  the  four  boys  so  harried  the  guard, 
that  if  Captain  Cattivanza  had  but  shown  his  face,  without  so 
much  as  drawing,  they  would  certainly  have  put  the  whole 
pack  to  flight.  But  delay  spoiled  all;  for  Bertino  received 
some  ugly  wounds  and  fell;  at  the  same  time,  Anguillotto 
was  also  hit  in  the  right  arm,  and  being  unable  to  use  his 
sword,  got  out  of  the  fray  as  well  as  he  was  able.  The  others 
did  the  same.  Bertino  Aldobrandi  was  lifted  from  the  ground 
seriously  injured. 

'  The  Bargello  was  the  chief  constable  or  sheriff  in  Italian  towns.  He 
did  the  rough  work  of  policing  the  city,  and  was  consequently  a  mark  for 
all  the  men  of  spirit  who  disliked  being  kept  in  order. 


92  CELLIJSII 


XLVIII 

While  these  thinj^s  were  happening-,  we  were  all  at  table; 
for  that  morning  we  had  dined  more  than  an  hour  later  than 
usual.  On  hearing  the  commotion,  one  of  the  old  man's  sons, 
the  elder,  rose  from  table  to  go  and  look  at  the  scuffle.  He 
was  called  Giovanni;  and  I  said  to  him:  "  For  Heaven's  sake, 
don't  go!  In  such  matters  one  is  always  certain  to  lose,  while 
there  is  nothing  to  be  gained."  His  father  spoke  to  like  pur- 
pose: "  Pray,  my  son,  don't  go!  "  But  the  lad,  without  heed- 
ing any  one,  ran  down  the  stairs.  Reaching  the  Banchi,  where 
the  great  scrimmage  was,  and  seeing  Bertino  lifted  from  the 
ground,  he  ran  toward  home,  and  met  my  brother  Cecchino 
on  the  way,  who  asked  what  was  the  matter.  Though  some 
of  the  bystanders  signed  to  Giovanni  not  to  tell  Cecchino,  he 
cried  out  like  a  madman  how  it  was  that  Bertino  Aldobrandi 
had  been  killed  by  the  guard.  My  poor  brother  gave  vent 
to  a  bellow  which  might  have  been  heard  ten  miles  away. 
Then  he  turned  to  Giovanni:  "Ah  me!  but  could  you  tell 
me  which  of  those  men  killed  him  for  me?"  Giovanni  said, 
yes,  that  it  was  a  man  who  had  a  big  two-handed  sword,  with 
a  blue  feather  in  his  bonnet.  My  poor  brother  rushed  ahead, 
and  having  recognised  the  homicide  by  those  signs,  he  threw 
himself  with  all  his  dash  and  spirit  into  the  middle  of  the 
band,  and  before  his  man  could  turn  on  guard,  ran  him  right 
through  the  guts,  and  with  the  sword's  hilt  thrust  him  to  the 
ground.  Then  he  turned  upon  the  rest  with  such  energy  and 
daring,  that  his  one  arm  was  on  the  point  of  putting  the  whole 
band  to  flight,  had  it  not  been  that,  while  he  wheeled  round  to 
strike  an  arquebusier,  this  man  fired  in  self-defence,  and  hit 
the  brave  unfortunate  young  fellow  above  the  knee  of  his  right 
leg.  While  he  lay  stretched  upon  the  ground,  the  constables 
scrambled  oflf  in  disorder  as  fast  as  they  were  able,  lest  a  pair 
to  my  brother  should  arrive  upon  the  scene. 

Noticing  that  the  tumult  was  not  subsiding,  I  too  rose 
from  table,  and  girding  on  my  sword — for  everybody  wore  one 
then — I  went  to  the  bridge  of  Sant'  Agnolo,  where  I  saw  a 
group  of  several  men  assembled.  On  my  coming  up  and 
being  recognised  by  some  of  them,  they  gave  way  before 
me,  and  showed  me  what  I  least  of  all  things  wished  to  see, 
albeit  I  made  mighty  haste  to  view  the  sight.     On  the  instant 


MEMOIRS 


93 


I  did  not  know  Cecchino,  since  he  was  wearing  a  diflerent 
suit  of  clothes  from  that  in  whicli  I  had  lately  seen  him.  Ac- 
cordingly, he  recognised  me  first,  and  said:  "  Dearest  brother, 
do  not  be  upset  by  my  grave  accident;  it  is  only  what  might 
be  expected  in  my  profession:  get  me  removed  from  here  at 
once,  for  I  have  but  few  hours  to  live."  They  had  accjuainted 
me  with  the  whole  event  while  he  was  speaking,  in  brief 
words  befitting  such  occasion.  So  I  answered:  "  Brother, 
this  is  the  greatest  sorrow  and  the  greatest  trial  that  could 
happen  to  me  in  the  whole  course  of  my  life.  But  be  of  good 
cheer;  for  before  you  lose  sight  of  him  who  did  the  mischief, 
you  shall  see  yourself  revenged  by  my  hand."  Our  words  on 
both  sides  were  to  the  purport,  but  of  the  shortest. 

XLIX 

The  guard  was  now  about  fifty  paces  from  us;  for  Maflfto, 
their  officer,  had  made  some  of  them  turn  back  to  take  up  the 
corporal  my  brother  killed.  Accordingly,  I  quickly  traversed 
that  short  space,  wrapped  in  my  cape,  which  I  had  tightened 
round  me,  and  came  up  with  Mafifio,  whom  I  should  most 
certainly  have  murdered,  for  there  were  plenty  of  people 
round,  and  I  had  wound  my  way  among  them.  With  the 
rapidity  of  lightning,  I  had  half  drawn  my  sword  from  the 
sheath,  when  Berlinghier  Berlinghieri,  a  young  man  of  the 
greatest  daring  and  my  good  friend,  threw  himself  from  be- 
hind upon  my  arms;  he  had  four  other  fellows  of  like  kidney 
with  him,  who  cried  out  to  Mafifio:  "Away  with  you,  for 
this  man  here  alone  was  killing  you!"  He  asked:  "Who 
is  he?"  and  they  answered:  "Own  brother  to  the  man  you 
see  there."  Without  waiting  to  hear  more,  he  made  haste 
for  Torre  di  Nona;^  and  they  said:  "  Benvenuto,  we  pre- 
vented you  against  your  will,  but  did  it  for  your  good;  now 
let  us  go  to  succour  him  who  must  die  shortly."  Accordingly, 
we  turned  and  went  back  to  my  brother,  whom  I  had  at  once 
conveyed  into  a  house.  The  doctors  who  were  called  in  con- 
sultation, treated  him  with  medicaments,  but  could  not  de- 
cide to  amputate  the  leg,  which  might  perhaps  have  saved 
him. 

As  soon  as  his  wound  had  been  dressed,  Duke  Alessandro 

'  The  Torre  di  Nona  was  one  of  the  principal  prisons  in  Rome,  used 
especially  for  criminals  condemned  to  death. 


94 


CELLINI 


appeared  and  most  affectionately  greeted  him.  My  brother 
had  not  as  yet  lost  consciousness;  so  he  said  to  the  Duke: 
"  My  lord,  this  only  grieves  me,  that  your  Excellency  is  losing 
a  servant  than  whom  you  may  perchance  find  men  more 
valiant  in  the  profession  of  arms,  but  none  more  lovingly  and 
loyally  devoted  to  your  service  than  I  have  been."  The  Duke 
bade  him  do  all  he  could  to  keep  alive;  for  the  rest,  he  well 
knew  him  to  be  a  man  of  worth  and  courage.  He  then  turned 
to  his  attendants,  ordering  them  to  see  that  the  brave  young 
fellow  wanted  for  nothing. 

When  he  was  gone,  my  brother  lost  blood  so  copiously, 
for  nothing  could  be  done  to  stop  it,  that  he  went  off  his  head, 
and  kept  raving  all  the  following  night,  with  the  exception 
that  once,  when  they  wanted  to  give  him  the  communion, 
he  said:  "You  would  have  done  well  to  confess  me  before; 
now  it  is  impossible  that  I  should  receive  the  divine  sacra- 
ment in  this  already  ruined  frame;  it  will  be  enough  if  I  par- 
take of  it  by  the  divine  virtue  of  the  eyesight,  whereby  it  shall 
be  transmitted  into  my  immortal  soul,  which  only  prays  to 
Him  for  mercy  and  forgiveness."  Having  spoken  thus,  the 
host  was  elevated;  but  he  straightway  relapsed  into  the  same 
delirious  ravings  as  before,  pouring  forth  a  torrent  of  the 
most  terrible  frenzies  and  horrible  imprecations  that  the  mind 
of  man  could  imagine;  nor  did  he  cease  once  all  that  night 
until  the  day  broke. 

When  the  sun  appeared  above  our  horizon,  he  turned  to 
me  and  said:  "Brother,  I  do  not  wish  to  stay  here  longer, 
for  these  fellows  will  end  by  making  me  do  something  tre- 
mendous, which  may  cause  them  to  repent  of  the  annoyance 
they  have  given  me."  Then  he  kicked  out  both  his  legs — 
the  injured  limb  we  had  inclosed  in  a  very  heavy  box — and 
made  as  though  he  would  fling  it  across  a  horse's  back.  Turn- 
ing his  face  round  to  me,  he  called  out  thrice — "  Farewell, 
farewell !  "  and  with  the  last  word  that  most  valiant  spirit 
passed  away. 

At  the  proper  hour,  toward  nightfall,  I  had  him  buried 
with  due  ceremony  in  the  church  of  the  Florentines;  and 
afterward  I  erected  to  his  memory  a  very  handsome  monu- 
ment of  marble,  upon  which  I  caused  trophies  and  banners 
to  be  carved.  I  must  not  omit  to  mention  that  one  of  his 
friends  had  asked  him  who  the  man  was  that  had  killed  him, 


MEMOIRS 


95 


and  if  he  could  recognise  him;  to  which  he  answered  that 
he  could,  and  gave  his  description.  My  brother,  indeed,  at- 
tempted to  prevent  this  coming  to  my  ears;  but  1  got  it  very 
well  impressed  upon  my  mind,  as  will  appear  in  the  sequel. 

L 

Returning  to  the  monument,  I  should  relate  that  certain 
famous  men  of  letters,  who  knew  my  brother,  composed  for 
me  an  epitaph,  telling  me  that  the  noble  young  man  deserved 
it.    The  inscription  ran  thus: 

"  Francisco  Cellino  Florentino,  qui  quod  in  teneris  annis  ad  loannem 
Medicem  ducem  plures  victorias  retulit  et  signifer  fuit,  facile  documentum 
dedit  quantae  fortitudinis  et  consilii  vir  futurus  erat,  ni  crudelis  fati  archi- 
buso  transfossus,  quinto  aetatis  lustre  jaceret,  Benvenutus  frater  posuit. 
Obiit  die  xxvii  Mail  MD.XXIX." 

He  was  twenty-five  years  of  age;  and  since  the  soldiers 
called  him  Cecchino  del  Piffero,^  his  real  name  being  Giovan- 
francesco  Cellini,  I  wanted  to  engrave  the  former,  by  which 
he  was  commonly  known,  under  the  armorial  bearings  of  our 
family.  This  name  then  I  had  cut  in  fine  antique  characters, 
all  of  which  were  broken  save  the  first  and  last.  I  was  asked 
by  the  learned  men  who  had  composed  that  beautiful  epitaph, 
wherefore  I  used  these  broken  letters;  and  my  answer  was, 
because  the  marvellous  framework  of  his  body  was  spoiled 
and  dead;  and  the  reason  why  the  first  and  last  remained 
entire  was,  that  the  first  should  symbolize  the  great  gift  God 
had  given  him,  namely,  of  a  human  soul,  inflamed  with  his 
divinity,  the  which  hath  never  broken,  while  the  second  repre- 
sented the  glorious  renown  of  his  brave  actions.  The  thought 
gave  satisfaction,  and  several  persons  have  since  availed  them- 
selves of  my  device.  Close  to  the  name  I  had  the  coat  of  us 
Cellini  carved  upon  the  stone,  altering  it  in  some  particulars. 
In  Ravenna,  which  is  a  most  ancient  city,  there  exist  Cellini 
of  our  name  in  the  quality  of  very  honourable  gentry,  who 
bear  a  Hon  rampant  or  upon  a  field  of  azure,  holding  a  lily 
gules  in  his  dexter  paw,  with  a  label  in  chief  and  three  little 
lilies  or.  These  are  the  true  arms  of  the  Cellini.  My  father 
showed  me  a  shield  as  ours  which  had  the  paw  only,  together 
with  the  other  bearings;  but  I  should  prefer  to  follow  those 
of  the   Cellini  of  Ravenna,  which   I  have  described  above. 

'  That  is,  Frank,  the  Fifer's  son. 


96  'CELLINI 

Now  to  return  to  what  I  caused  to  be  engraved  upon  my 
brother's  tomb:  it  was  the  hon's  paw,  but  instead  of  a  Uly, 
I  made  the  Hon  hold  an  axe,  with  the  field  of  the  scutcheon 
quartered;  and  I  put  the  axe  in  solely  that  I  might  not  be 
Unmindful  to  revenge  him. 

LI 

I  went  on  applying  myself  with  the  utmost  diligence  upon 
the  gold-work  for  Pope  Clement's  button.  He  was  very 
eager  to  have  it,  and  used  to  send  for  me  two  or  three  times 
a  week,  in  order  to  inspect  it;  and  his  delight  in  the  work 
always  increased.  Often  would  he  rebuke  and  scold  me,  as 
it  were,  for  the  great  grief  in  which  my  brother's  loss  had 
plunged  me;  and  one  day,  observing  me  more  downcast  and 
out  of  trim  than  was  proper,  he  cried  aloud:  "  Benvenuto, 
oh!  I  did  not  know  that  you  were  mad.  Have  you  only  just 
learned  that  there  is  no  remedy  against  death?  One  would 
think  that  you  were  trying  to  run  after  him."  When  I  left 
the  presence,  I  continued  working  at  the  jewel  and  the  dies 
for  the  Mint;  but  I  also  took  to  watching  the  arquebusier 
who  shot  my  brother,  as  though  he  had  been  a  girl  I  was  in 
love  with.  The  man  had  formerly  been  in  the  light  cavalry, 
but  afterward  had  joined  the  arquebusiers  as  one  of  the  Bar- 
gello's  corporals;  and  what  increased  my  rage  was  that  he 
had  used  these  boastful  words:  "  If  it  had  not  been  for  me, 
who  killed  that  brave  young  man,  the  least  trifle  of  delay 
would  have  resulted  in  his  putting  us  all  to  flight  with  great 
disaster."  When  I  saw  that  the  fever  caused  by  always  seeing 
him  about  was  depriving  me  of  sleep  and  appetite,  and  was 
bringing  me  by  degrees  to  sorry  plight,  I  overcame  my  re- 
pugnance to  so  low  and  not  quite  praiseworthy  an  enterprise, 
and  made  my  mind  up  one  evening  to  rid  myself  of  the  tor- 
ment. The  fellow  lived  in  a  house  near  a  place  called  Torre 
Sanguigua,  next  door  to  the  lodging  of  one  of  the  most  fash- 
ionable women  in  Rome,  named  Signora  Antea.  It  had  just 
struck  twenty-four,  and  he  was  standing  at  the  house-door, 
with  his  sword  in  hand,  having  risen  from  supper.  With  great 
address  I  stole  up  to  him.  holding  a  large  Pistojan  dagger, 
and  dealt  him  a  back-handed  stroke,  with  which  I  meant  to 
cut  his  head  clean  off;  but  as  he  turned  round  very  suddenly, 
the  blow  fell  'jpon  the  point  of  his  left  shoulder  and  broke 


MEMOIRS 


97 


the  bone.  He  sprang  up,  dropped  his  sword,  half-stunned 
with  the  great  pain,  and  took  to  flight.  I  followed  after,  and 
in  four  steps  caught  him  up,  when  I  lifted  my  dagger  above 
his  head,  which  he  was  holding  very  low,  and  hit  him  in  the 
back  exactly  at  the  juncture  of  the  nape-bone  and  the  neck. 
The  poniard  entered  this  point  so  deep  into  the  bone,  that, 
though  I  used  all  my  strength  to  pull  it  out,  I  was  not  able. 
For  just  at  that  moment  four  soldiers  with  drawn  swords 
sprang  out  from  Antea's  lodging,  and  obliged  me  to  set  hand 
to  my  own  sword  to  defend  my  life.  Leaving  the  poniard 
then,  I  made  off,  and  fearing  I  might  be  recognised,  took 
refuge  in  the  palace  of  Duke  Alcssandro,  which  was  between 
Piazzo  Navona  and  the  Rotunda.^  On  my  arrival,  I  asked  to 
see  the  Duke;  who  told  me  that,  if  I  w^as  alone,  I  need  only 
keep  quiet  and  have  no  further  anxiety,  but  go  on  working 
at  the  jewel  which  the  Pope  had  set  his  heart  on,  and  stay 
eight  days  indoors.  He  gave  this  advice  the  more  securely, 
because  the  soldiers  had  now  arrived  who  interrupted  the 
completion  of  my  deed;  they  held  the  dagger  in  their  hand, 
and  were  relating  how  the  matter  happened,  and  the  great 
trouble  they  had  to  pull  the  weapon  from  the  neck  and  head- 
bone  of  the  man,  w^hose  name  they  did  not  know.  Just  then 
Giovan  Bandini  came  up,  and  said  to  them:  ^  "  That  poniard 
is  mine,  and  I  lent  it  to  Benvenuto,  who  was  bent  on  reveng- 
ing his  brother."  The  soldiers  were  profuse  in  their  expres- 
sions of  regret  at  having  interrupted  me,  although  my  venge- 
ance had  been  amply  satisfied. 

More  than  eight  days  elapsed,  and  the  Pope  did  not  send 
for  me  according  to  his  custom.  Afterward  he  summoned 
me  through  his  chamberlain,  the  Bolognese  nobleman  I  have 
already  mentioned,  who  let  me,  in  his  own  modest  manner, 
understand  that  his  Holiness  knew  all,  but  was  very  well  in- 
clined toward  me,  and  that  I  had  only  to  mind  my  work  and 
keep  quiet.  When  we  reached  the  presence,  the  Pope  cast  so 
menacing  a  glance  toward  me,  that  the  mere  look  of  his  eyes 
made  me  tremble.     Afterward,   upon   examining  my  work, 

'  That  is,  the  Pantheon. 

'  Bandini  bears  a  distinguished  name  in  Florentine  annals.  He  served 
Duke  Alessandro  in  affairs  of  much  importance  ;  but  afterward  he  be- 
trayed the  interests  of  his  master,  Duke  Cosimo,  in  an  embassy  to  Charles 
V  in  1543.  It  seems  that  he  had  then  been  playing  into  the  hands  of 
Filippo  Strozzi,  for  which  offence  he  passed  fifteen  years  in  a  dungeon. 
7 


98 


CELLINI 


his  countenance  cleared,  and  he  began  to  praise  me  beyond 
measure,  saying  that  I  had  done  a  vast  amount  in  a  short  time. 
Then,  looking  me  straight  in  the  face,  he  added:  "  Now  that 
you  are  cured,  Benvenuto,  take  heed  how  you  live."  I,  who 
understood  his  meaning,  promised  that  I  would.  Immedi- 
ately upon  this,  I  opened  a  very  fine  shop  in  the  Banchi,  oppo- 
site Raffaello,  and  there  I  finished  the  jewel  after  the  lapse 

of  a  few  months. 

LII 

The  Pope  had  sent  me  all  those  precious  stones,  except 
the  diamond,  which  was  pawned  to  certain  Genoese  bankers 
for  some  pressing  need  he  had  of  money.  The  rest  were 
in  my  custody,  together  with  a  model  of  the  diamond.  I  had 
five  excellent  journeymen,  and  in  addition  to  the  great  piece, 
I  was  engaged  on  several  jobs;  so  that  my  shop  contained 
property  of  much  value  in  jewels,  gems,  and  gold  and  silver. 
I  kept  a  shaggy  dog,  very  big  and  handsome,  which  Duke 
Alessandro  gave  me;  the  beast  was  capital  as  a  retriever,  since 
he  brought  me  every  sort  of  birds  and  game  I  shot,  but  he 
also  served  most  admirably  for  a  watchdog.  I  occupied  an 
apartment  far  away  from  my  workmen's  room,  as  well  as  from 
the  shop;  and  this  communicated  by  a  little  dark  passage 
with  my  bedroom,  and  my  slumber  was  sometimes  very  deep 
and  heavy. 

So  it  chanced  one  night:  for  I  must  say  that  a  thief,  under 
the  pretejjt  of  being  a  goldsmith,  had  spied  on  me,  and  cast  his 
eyes  upon  the  precious  stones,  and  made  a  plan  to  steal  them. 
Well,  then,  this  fellow  broke  into  the  shop,  where  he  found  a 
quantity  of  little  things  in  gold  and  silver.  He  was  engaged 
in  bursting  open  certain  4)Oxes  to  get  at  the  jewels  he  had 
noticed,  when  my  dog  jumped  upon  him,  and  put  him  to 
much  trouble  to  defend  himself  with  his  sword.  The  dog, 
unable  to  grapple  with  an  armed  man,  ran  several  times 
through  the  house,  and  rushed  into  the  rooms  of  the  journey- 
men, which  had  been  left  open  because  of  the  great  heat. 
When  he  found  they  paid  no  heed  to  his  loud  barking,  he 
dragged  their  bed-clothes  off;  and  when  they  still  heard  noth- 
ing, he  pulled  first  one  and  then  another  by  the  arm  till  he 
roused  them,  and,  barking  furiously,  ran  before  to  show  them 
where  he  wanted  them  to  go.  At  last  it  became  clear  that 
they  refused  to  follow;  for  the  traitors,  cross  at  being  dis- 


1^ 


f- 


o 
o 

< 


MEMOIRS  gg 

turbed,  threw  stones  and  sticks  at  him;  and  this  they  could 
well  do,  for  I  had  ordered  them  to  keep  all  night  a  lamp 
alight  there;  and  in  the  end  they  shut  their  rooms  tight;  so 
the  dog,  abandoning  all  hope  of  aid  from  such  rascals,  set 
out  alone  again  on  his  adventure.  He  ran  down,  and  not 
finding  the  thief  in  the  shop,  flew  after  him.  When  he  got 
at  him,  he  tore  the  cape  ofT  his  back.  It  would  have  gone 
hard  with  the  fellow  had  he  not  called  for  help  to  certain 
tailors,  praying  them  for  God's  sake  to  save  him  from  a  mad 
dog;  and  they,  believing  what  he  said,  jumped  out  and  drove 
the  dog  off  with  much  trouble. 

After  sunrise  my  workmen  went  into  the  shop,  and  saw 
that  it  had  been  broken  open  and  all  the  boxes  smashed. 
They  began  to  scream  at  the  top  of  their  voices:  "Ah,  woe 
is  me!  Ah,  woe  is  me!"  The  clamour  woke  me,  and  I  rushed 
out  in  a  panic.  Appearing  thus  before  them,  they  cried  out: 
"  Alas  to  us!  for  we  have  been  robbed  by  some  one,  who  has 
broken  and  borne  everything  away!  "  These  words  wrought 
so  forcibly  upon  my  mind  that  I  dared  not  go  to  my  big  chest 
and  look  if  it  still  held  the  jewels  of  the  Pope.  So  intense  was 
the  anxiety,  that  I  seemed  to  lose  my  eyesight,  and  told  them 
they  themselves  must  unlock  the  chest,  and  siee  how  many 
of  the  Pope's  gems  were  missing.  The  fellows  were  all  of 
them  in  their  shirts;  and  when,  on  opening  the  chest,  they 
saw  the  precious  stones  and  my  work  with  them,  they  took 
heart  of  joy  and  shouted:  "There  is  no  harm  done;  your 
piece  and  all  the  stones  are  here;  but  the  thief  has  left  us 
naked  to  the  shirt,  because  last  night,  by  reason  of  the  burn- 
ing heat,  we  took  our  clothes  ofif  in  the  shop  and  left  them 
here."  Recovering  my  senses,  I  thanked  God,  and  said: 
"  Go  and  get  yourselves  new  suits  of  clothes;  I  will  pay  when 
I  hear  at  leisure  how  the  whole  thing  happened."  What 
caused  me  the  most  pain,  and  made  me  lose  my  senses,  and 
take  fright — so  contrary  to  my  real  nature — was  the  dread 
lest  peradventure  folk  should  fancy  I  had  trumped  a  story 
of  the  robber  up  to  steal  the  jewels.  It  had  already  been  said 
to  Pope  Clement  by  one  of  his  most  trusted  servants,  and  by 
others,  that  is,  by  Francesco  del  Nero,  Zana  de'  Biliotti  his 
accountant,  the  Bishop  of  Vasona,  and  several  such  men: 
"  Why,  most  blessed  Father,  do  you  confide  gems  of  that  vast 
value  to  a  young  fellow,  who  is  all  fire,  more  passionate  for 


lOO  CELLINI 

arms  than  for  his  art,  and  not  yet  thirty  years  of  age?  "  The 
Pope  asked  in  answer  if  any  one  of  them  knew  that  I  had 
done  aught  to  justify  such  suspicions.  Whereto  Francesco  del 
Nero,  his  treasurer,  rephed:^  "  No,  most  blessed  Father,  be- 
cause he  has  not  as  yet  had  an  opportunity."  Whereto  the 
Pope  rejoined:  "  I  regard  him  as  a  thoroughly  honest  man; 
and  if  I  saw  with  my  own  eyes  some  crime  he  had  committed, 
I  should  not  believe  it."  This  was  the  man  who  caused  me 
the  greatest  torment,  and  who  suddenly  came  up  before  my 
mind. 

After  telling  the  young  men  to  provide  themselves  with 
fresh  clothes,  I  took  my  piece,  together  with  the  gems,  setting 
them  as  well  as  I  could  in  their  proper  places,  and  went  off 
at  once  with  them  to  the  Pope.  Francesco  del  Nero  had 
already  told  him  something  of  the  trouble  in  my  shop,  and 
had  put  suspicions  in  his  head.  So  then,  taking  the  thing 
rather  ill  than  otherwise,  he  shot  a  furious  glance  upon  me, 
and  cried  haughtily:  "What  have  you  come  to  do  here? 
What  is  up?"  "  Here  are  all  your  precious  stones,  and  not 
one  of  them  is  missing."  At  this  the  Pope's  face  cleared, 
and  he  said:  "  So  then,  you're  welcome."  I  showed  him  the 
piece,  and  while  he  was  inspecting  it,  I  related  to  him  the 
whole  story  of  the  thief  and  of  my  agony,  and  what  had  been 
my  greatest  trouble  in  the  matter.  During  this  speech,  he 
oftentimes  turned  round  to  look  me  sharply  in  the  eyes;  and 
Francesco  del  Nero  being  also  in  the  presence,  this  seemed 
to  make  him  half  sorry  that  he  had  not  guessed  the  truth. 
At  last,  breaking  into  laughter  at  the  long  tale  I  was  telling, 
he  sent  me  oflf  with  these  words:  "  Go,  and  take  heed  to  be 
an  honest  man,  as  indeed  I  know  that  you  are." 

LIII 

I  went  on  working  assiduously  at  the  button,  and  at  the 
same  time  laboured  for  the  Mint,  when  certain  pieces  of  false 
money  got  abroad  in  Rome,  stamped  with  my  own  dies.  They 
were  brought  at  once  to  the  Pope,  who,  hearing  things  against 
me,  said  to  Giacopo  Balducci,  the  Master  of  the  Mint,  "  Take 

•  Varchi  gives  a  very  ugly  account  of  this  man,  Francesco  del  Nero, 
who  was  nicknamed  the  Cra  del  Piccadiglio.  "  In  the  whole  city  of 
Florence  there  never  was  born,  in  my  belief,  a  man  of  such  irreligion  or 
of  such  sordid  avarice." 


MEMOIRS  lOI 

every  means  in  your  power  to  find  the  criminal;  for  we  are 
sure  that  Benvenuto  is  an  honest  fellow."  That  traitor  of  a 
master,  being  in  fact  my  enemy,  replied:  "  Would  God,  most 
blessed  l-'athcr,  that  it  may  turn  out  as  you  say;  for  we  have 
some  proofs  against  him."  Upon  this  the  Pope  turned  to  the 
Governor  of  Rome,  and  bade  him  see  he  found  the  malefactor. 
During  those  days  the  Pope  sent  for  me,  and  leading  cau- 
tiously in  conversation  to  the  topic  of  the  coins,  asked  me 
at  the  fitting  moment:  "  Benvenuto,  should  you  have  the  heart 
to  coin  false  money?"  To  this  I  replied  that  I  thought  I 
could  do  so  better  than  all  the  rascals  who  gave  their  minds 
to  such  vile  work;  for  fellows  who  practise  lewd  trades  of 
that  sort  are  not  capable  of  earning  money,  nor  are  they  men 
of  much  ability.  I,  on  the  contrary,  with  my  poor  wits  could 
gain  enough  to  keep  me  comfortably;  for  when  I  set  dies  for 
the  Mint,  each  morning  before  dinner  I  put  at  least  three 
crowns  into  my  pockets;  this  was  the  customary  payment  for 
the  dies,  and  the  Master  of  the  Mint  bore  me  a  grudge,  be- 
cause he  would  have  liked  to  have  them  cheaper;  so  then, 
what  I  earned  with  God's  grace  and  the  world's,  sufficed  me, 
and  by  coining  false  money  I  should  not  have  made  so  much. 
The  Pope  very  well  perceived  my  drift;  and  whereas  he  had 
formerly  given  orders  that  they  should  see  I  did  not  fly  from 
Rome,  he  now  told  them  to  look  well  about  and  have  no  heed 
of  me,  seeing  he  was  ill-disposed  to  anger  me,  and  in  this  way 
run  the  risk  of  losing  me.  The  officials  who  received  these 
orders  were  certain  clerks  of  the  Camera,  who  made  the 
proper  search,  as  was  their  duty,  and  soon  found  the  rogue. 
He  was  a  stamper  in  the  service  of  the  Mint,  named  Cesare 
Macherone,  and  a  Roman  citizen.  Together  with  this  man 
they  detected  a  metal-founder  of  the  Mint. 

LIV 

On  that  very  day,  as  I  was  passing  through  the  Piazza 
Navona,  and  had  my  fine  retriever  with  me,  just  when  we 
came  opposite  the  gate  of  the  Bargello,  my  dog  flew  barking 
loudly  inside  the  door  upon  a  youth,  who  had  been  arrested 
at  the  suit  of  a  man  called  Donnino  (a  goldsmith  from  Parma, 
and  a  former  pupil  of  Caradosso),  on  the  charge  of  having 
robbed  him.  The  dog  strove  so  violently  to  tear  the  fellow 
to  pieces,  that  the  constables  were  moved  to  pity.     It  so  hap- 


I02  CELLINI 

pened  that  he  was  pleading  his  own  cause  with  boldness, 
and  Donnino  had  not  evidence  enough  to  support  the  accusa- 
tion; and  what  was  more,  one  of  the  corporals  of  the  guard, 
a  Genoese,  was  a  friend  of  the  young  man's  father.  The 
upshot  was  that,  what  with  the  dog  and  with  those  other  cir- 
cumstances, they  were  on  the  point  of  releasing  their  prisoner. 
When  I  came  up,  the  dog  had  lost  all  fear  of  sword  or  staves, 
and  was  flying  once  more  at  the  young  man;  so  they  told  me 
if  I  did  not  call  the  brute  off  they  would  kill  him.  I  held  him 
back  as  well  as  I  was  able;  but  just  then  the  fellow,  in  the 
act  of  readjusting  his  cape,  let  fall  some  paper  packets  from 
the  hood,  which  Donnino  recognised  as  his  property.  I  too 
recognised  a  little  ring;  whereupon  I  called  out:  "This  is 
the  thief  who  broke  into  my  shop  and  robbed  it;  and  there- 
fore my  dog  knows  him ;  "  then  I  loosed  the  dog,  who  flew 
again  upon  the  robber.  On  this  the  fellow  craved  for  mercy, 
promising  to  give  back  whatever  he  possessed  of  mine.  When 
I  had  secured  the  dog,  he  proceeded  to  restore  the  gold  and 
silver  and  the  rings  which  he  had  stolen  from  me,  and  twenty- 
five  crowns  in  addition.  Then  he  cried  once  more  to  me  for 
pity.  I  told  him  to  make  his  peace  with  God,  for  I  should 
do  him  neither  good  nor  evil.  So  I  returned  to  my  business; 
and  a  few  days  afterward,  Cesare  Macherone,  the  false  coiner, 
was  hanged  in  the  Banchi  opposite  the  Mint;  his  accomplice 
was  sent  to  the  galleys;  the  Genoese  thief  was  hanged  in  the 
Campo  di  Fiore,  while  I  remained  in  better  repute  as  an  honest 
man  than  I  had  enjoyed  before. 

LV 

When  I  had  nearly  finished  my  piece,  there  happened  that 
terrible  inundation  which  flooded  the  whole  of  Rome.^  I 
waited  to  see  what  would  happen;  the  day  was  well-nigh 
spent,  for  the  clocks  struck  twenty-two,  and  the  water  went 
on  rising  formidably.  Now  the  front  of  my  house  and  shop 
faced  the  Banchi,  but  the  back  was  several  yards  higher,  be- 
cause it  turned  toward  Monte  Giordano;  accordingly,  be- 
thinking me  first  of  my  own  safety  and  in  the  next  place  of 
my  honour,  I  filled  my  pockets  with  the  jewels,  and  gave 
the  gold-piece  into  the  custody  of  my  workmen,  and  then 
descended  barefoot  from  the  back-windows,   and  waded  as 

•  This  took  place  on  the  8th  and  gth  October,  1530. 


MEMOIRS 


103 


well  as  I  could  until  I  reached  Monte  Cavallo.  There  I 
sought  out  Messer  Giovanni  Gaddi,  clerk  of  the  Camera,  and 
Bastiano  Veneziano,  the  painter.  To  the  former  1  confided 
the  precious  stones,  to  keep  in  safety :  he  had  the  same  regard 
for  me  as  though  I  had  been  his  brother.  A  few  days  later, 
when  the  rage  of  the  river  was  spent,  I  returned  to  my  work- 
shop, and  finished  the  piece  with  such  good  fortune,  through 
God's  grace  and  my  own  great  industry,  that  it  was  held  to 
be  the  finest  masterpiece  which  had  been  ever  seen  in  Rome.^ 
When  then  I  took  it  to  the  Pope,  he  was  insatiable  in  prais- 
ing me,  and  said:  "  Were  I  but  a  wealthy  emperor,  I  would 
give  my  Benvenuto  as  much  land  as  his  eyes  could  survey; 
yet  being  nowadays  but  needy  bankrupt  potentates,  we  will 
at  any  rate  give  him  bread  enough  to  satisfy  his  modest 
wishes."  I  let  the  Pope  run  on  to  the  end  of  his  rhodomon- 
tade,  and  then  asked  him  for  a  mace-bearer's  place  which  hap- 
pened to  be  vacant.  He  replied  that  he  would  grant  me  some- 
thing of  far  greater  consequence.  I  begged  his  Holiness  to 
bestow  this  little  thing  on  me  meanwhile  by  way  of  earnest. 
He  began  to  laugh,  and  said  he  was  willing,  but  that  he  did 
not  wish  me  to  serve,  and  that  I  must  make  some  arrange- 
ment wath  the  other  mace-bcarers  to  be  exempted.  He  would 
allow  them  through  me  a  certain  favour,  for  which  they  had 
already  petitioned,  namely,  the  right  of  recovering  their  fees 
at  law.  This  was  accordingly  done;  and  that  mace-bearer's 
office  brought  me  in  little  less  than  200  crowns  a  year.^ 

LVI 

I  continued  to  work  for  the  Pope,  executing  now  one  trifle 
and  now  another,  w^hen  he  commissioned  me  to  design  a 
chalice  of  exceeding  richness.  So  I  made  both  drawing  and 
model  for  the  piece.  The  latter  was  constructed  of  wood  and 
w^ax.  Instead  of  the  usual  top,  I  fashioned  three  figures  of 
a  fair  size  in  the  round;  they  represented  Faith,  Hope,  and 
Charity.  Corresponding  to  these,  at  the  base  of  the  cup,  were 
three  circular  histories  in  bas-relief.     One  was  the  Nativity  of 

'  This  famous  masterpiece  was  preserved  in  the  Castle  of  S.  Angelo 
during  the  Papal  Government  of  Rome.  It  was  brought  out  on  Christ- 
mas, Easter,  and  S.  Peter's  days. 

*  Cellini  received  this  post  among  the  Mazzieri  (who  walked  like 
beadles  before  the  Pope)  on  April  14,  1531.  He  resigned  it  in  favour  of 
Pietro  Cornaro  of  Venice  in  1535. 


I04 


CELLINI 


Christ,  the  second  the  Resurrection,  and  the  third  S.  Peter 
crucified  head  downward;  for  thus  1  had  received  commis- 
sion. While  I  had  this  work  in  hand,  the  Pope  was  often 
pleased  to  look  at  it;  wherefore,  observing  that  his  Holiness 
had  never  thought  again  of  giving  me  anything,  and  knowing 
that  a  post  in  the  Piombo  was  vacant,  I  asked  for  this  one 
evening.  The  good  Pope,  quite  oblivious  of  his  extravagances 
at  the  termination  of  the  last  piece,  said  to  me:  "  That  post  in 
the  Piombo  is  worth  more  than  800  crowns  a  year,  so  that  if  I 
gave  it  you,  you  would  spend  your  time  in  scratching  your 
paunch,  and  your  magnificent  handicraft  would  be  lost,  and  I 
should  bear  the  blame."  I  replied  at  once  as  thus:  "  Cats  of  a 
good  breed  mouse  better  when  they  are  fat  than  starving;  and 
likewise  honest  men  who  possess  some  talent,  exercise  it  to 
far  nobler  purport  when  they  have  the  wherewithal  to  live 
abundantly;  wherefore  princes  who  provide  such  folk  with 
competences,  let  your  Holiness  take  notice,  are  watering  the 
roots  of  genius;  for  genius  and  talent,  at  their  birth,  come  into 
this  world  lean  and  scabby;  and  your  Holiness  should  also 
know  that  I  never  asked  for  the  place  with  the  hope  of  getting 
it.  Only  too  happy  I  to  have  that  miserable  post  of  mace- 
bearer.  On  the  other  I  built  but  castles  in  the  air.  Your 
Holiness  will  do  well,  since  you  do  not  care  to  give  it  me,  to 
bestow  it  on  a  man  of  talent  who  deserves  it,  and  not  upon 
some  fat  ignoramus  who  will  spend  his  time  scratching  his 
paunch,  if  I  may  quote  your  Holiness's  own  words.  Follow 
the  example  of  Pope  Giulio's  illustrious  memory,  who  con- 
ferred an  office  of  the  same  kind  upon  Bramante,  that  most 
admirable  architect." 

Immediately  on  finishing  this  speech,  I  made  my  bow,  and 
went  off  in  a  fury.  Then  Bastiano  Veneziano  the  painter 
approached,  and  said:  "  Most  blessed  Father,  may  your  Holi- 
ness be  willing  to  grant  it  to  one  who  works  assiduously  in 
the  exercise  of  some  talent;  and  as  your  Holiness  knows  that 
I  am  diligent  in  my  art.  I  beg  that  I  may  be  thought  worthy 
of  it."  The  Pope  replied:  "That  devil  Benvenuto  will  not 
brook  rebuke.  I  was  inclined  to  give  it  him,  but  it  is  not  right 
to  be  so  haughty  with  a  Pope.  Therefore  I  do  not  well  know 
what  I  am  to  do."  The  Bishop  of  Vasona  then  came  up,  and 
put  in  a  word  for  Bastiano,  saying:  "  Most  blessed  Father, 
Benvenuto  is  but  young;  and  a  sword  becomes  him  better 


MEMOIRS  105 

than  a  friar's  frock.  Let  your  Holiness  give  the  place  to  this 
ingenious  person  Bastiano.  Some  time  or  other  you  will  be 
able  to  bestow  on  Benvenuto  a  good  thing,  perhaps  more 
suitable  to  him  than  this  would  be."  Then  the  Pope,  turning 
to  Messer  Bartolommeo  Valori,  told  him:  "When  next  you 
meet  Benvenuto,  let  him  know  from  me  that  it  was  he  who 
got  that  office  in  the  Piombo  for  Bastiano  the  painter,  and 
add  that  he  may  reckon  on  obtaining  the  next  considerable 
place  that  falls;  meanwhile  let  him  look  to  his  behaviour,  and 
finish  my  commissions."  ^ 

The  following  evening,  two  hours  after  sundown,  I  met 
Messer  Bartolommeo  Valori  ^  at  the  corner  of  the  Mint;  he 
was  preceded  by  two  torches,  and  was  going  in  haste  to  the 
Pope,  who  had  sent  for  him.  On  my  taking  off  my  hat,  he 
stopped  and  called  me,  and  reported  in  the  most  friendly 
manner  all  the  messages  the  Pope  had  sent  me.  I  replied 
that  I  should  complete  my  work  with  greater  diligence  and 
application  than  any  I  had  yet  attempted,  but  without  the 
least  hope  of  having  any  reward  whatever  from  the  Pope. 
Messer  Bartolommeo  reproved  me,  saying  that  this  was  not 
the  way  in  which  one  ought  to  reply  to  the  advances  of  a 
Pope.  I  answered  that  I  should  be  mad  to  reply  otherwise 
— mad  if  I  based  my  hopes  on  such  promises,  being  certain 
to  get  nothing.     So  I  departed,  and  went  oflf  to  my  business. 

Messer  Bartolommeo  must  have  reported  my  audacious 
speeches  to  the  Pope,  and  more  perhaps  than  I  had  really 
said;  for  his  Holiness  waited  above  two  months  before  he 
sent  to  me,  and  during  that  while  nothing  would  have  in- 
duced me  to  go  uncalled  for  to  the  palace.  Yet  he  was  dying 
with  impatience  to  see  the  chalice,  and  commissioned  Messer 

'  The  office  of  the  Piombo  in  Rome  was  a  bureau  in  which  leaden  seals 
were  appended  to  Bulls  and  instruments  of  state.  It  remained  for  a  long 
time  in  the  hands  of  the  Cistercians  ;  but  it  used  also  to  be  conferred  on 
laymen,  among  whom  were  Bremante  and  Sebastiano  del  Piombo.  When 
the  latter  obtained  it,  he  neglected  his  art  and  gave  himself  up  to  "scratch- 
ing his  paunch,  '  as  Cellini  predicted. 

'  Bartolommea  or  Baccio  Valori,  a  devoted  adherent  of  the  Medici, 
played  an  important  part  in  Florentine  history.  He  was  Clement's  com- 
missary to  the  Prince  of  Orange  during  the  siege.  Afterward,  feeling 
himself  ill  repaid  for  his  services,  he  joined  Filippo  Strozzi  in  his  opposi- 
tion to  the  Medicean  rule,  and  was  beheaded  in  1537,  together  with  his 
son  and  a  nephew. 


-106  CELLINI 

Ruberto  Pucci  to  give  heed  to  what  I  was  about.^  That  right 
worthy  fellow  came  daily  to  visit  me,  and  always  gave  me 
some  kindly  word,  which  I  returned.  The  time  was  drawing 
nigh  now  for  the  Pope  to  travel  toward  Bologna;  ^  so  at  last, 
perceiving  that  I  did  not  mean  to  come  to  him,  he  made 
Messer  Ruberto  bid  me  bring  my  work,  that  he  might  see 
how  I  was  getting  on.  Accordingly,  I  took  it;  and  having 
shown,  as  the  piece  itself  proved,  that  the  most  important  part 
w^as  finished,  I  begged  him  to  advance  me  five  hundred 
crowns,  partly  on  account,  and  partly  because  I  wanted  gold 
to  complete  the  chalice.  The  Pope  said:  "  Go  on,  go  on  at 
work  till  it  is  finished."  I  answered,  as  I  took  my  leave,  that 
I  would  finish  it  if  he  paid  me  the  money.  And  so  I  went 
away. 

LVII 

When  the  Pope  took  his  journey  to  Bologna,  he  left  Car- 
dinal Salviati  as  Legate  of  Rome,  and  gave  him  commission 
to  push  the  work  that  I  was  doing  forward,  adding:  "  Ben- 
venuto  is  a  fellow  who  esteems  his  own  great  talents  but 
slightly,  and  us  less;  look  to  it  then  that  you  keep  him  always 
going,  so  that  I  may  find  the  chalice  finished  on  my  return." 

That  beast  of  a  Cardinal  sent  for  me  after  eight  days, 
bidding  me  bring  the  piece  up.  On  this  I  went  to  him  with- 
out the  piece.  No  sooner  had  I  shown  my  face,  than  he  called 
out:  "Where  is  that  onion-stew  of  yours?  Have  you  got  it 
ready?"  I  answered:  "O  most  reverend  Monsignor,  I  have 
not  got  my  onion-stew  ready,  nor  shall  I  make  it  ready,  unless 
you  give  me  onions  to  concoct  it  with."  At  these  words,  the 
Cardinal,  who  looked  more  like  a  donkey  than  a  man,  turned 
uglier  by  half  than  he  was  naturally ;  and  wanting  at  once  to 
cut  the  matter  short,  cried  out:  "  FU  send  you  to  a  galley, 
and  then  perhaps  you'll  have  the  grace  to  go  on  with  your 
labour."  The  bestial  manners  of  the  man  made  me  a  beast 
too;  and  I  retorted:  "Monsignor,  send  me  to  the  galleys 
when  I've  done  deeds  worthy  of  them;  but  for  my  present 
laches,  I  snap  my  fingers  at  your  galleys:  and  what  is  more, 

'  Roberto  Pucci  was  another  of  the  devoted  Medicean  partisans  who 
remained  true  to  his  colours.  He  sat  among  the  forty-eight  senators  of 
Alessandro,  and  was  made  a  Cardinal  by  Paul  III  in  1534. 

'  On  November  18,  1532,  Clement  went  to  meet  Charles  Vat  Bologna, 
where,  in  1529,  he  had  already  given  him  the  Imperial  crown. 


MEMOIRS 


107 


I  tell  you  that,  just  because  of  you,  I  will  not  set  hand  further 
to  my  piece.  Don't  send  for  me  again,  for  I  won't  appear, 
no,  not  if  you  summon  me  by  the  police." 

After  this,  the  good  Cardinal  tried  several  times  to  let  me 
know  that  I  ought  to  go  on  working,  and  to  bring  him  what  I 
was  doing  to  look  at.  I  only  told  his  messengers:  "  Say  to 
Monsignor  that  he  must  send  me  onions,  if  he  wants  me  to 
get  my  stew  ready."  Nor  gave  I  ever  any  other  answer;  so 
that  he  threw  up  the  commission  in  despair. 

LVIII 

The  Pope  came  back  from  Bologna,  and  sent  at  once  for 
me,  because  the  Cardinal  had  written  the  worst  he  could  of 
my  affairs  in  his  despatches.  He  was  in  the  hottest  rage 
imaginable,  and  bade  me  come  upon  the  instant  with  my 
piece.  I  obeyed.  Now,  while  the  Pope  was  staying  at 
Bologna,  I  had  suffered  from  an  attack  of  inflammation  in  the 
eyes,  so  painful  that  I  scarce  could  go  on  living  for  the  tor- 
ment; and  this  was  the  chief  reason  why  I  had  not  carried 
out  my  work.  The  trouble  was  so  serious  that  I  expected 
for  certain  to  be  left  without  my  eyesight ;  and  I  had  reckoned 
up  the  sum  on  which  I  could  subsist,  if  I  were  blind  for  life. 
Upon  the  way  to  the  Pope,  I  turned  over  in  my  mind  what 
I  should  put  forward  to  excuse  myself  for  not  having  been 
able  to  advance  his  work.  I  thought  that  while  he  was  in- 
specting the  chalice,  I  might  tell  him  of  my  personal  embar- 
rassments. However,  I  was  unable  to  do  so;  for  when  I 
arrived  in  the  presence,  he  broke  out  coarsely  at  me:  "  Come 
here  with  your  work;  is  it  finished?"  I  displayed  it;  and 
his  temper  rising,  he  exclaimed:  "  In  God's  truth  I  tell  thee, 
thou  that  makest  it  thy  business  to  hold  no  man  in  regard, 
that,  were  it  not  for  decency  and  order,  I  w^ould  have  thee 
chucked  together  with  thy  work  there  out  of  windows."  Ac- 
cordingly, when  I  perceived  that  the  Pope  had  become  no 
better  than  a  vicious  beast,  my  chief  anxiety  was  how  I  could 
manage  to  withdraw  from  his  presence.  So,  while  he  went 
on  bullying,  I  tucked  the  piece  beneath  my  cape,  and  mut- 
tered under  my  breath:  "The  whole  world  could  not  compel 
a  blind  man  to  execute  such  things  as  these."  Raising  his 
voice  still  higher,  the  Pope  shouted :  "  Come  here ;  what  say'st 
thou?  "    I  stayed  in  two  minds,  whether  or  not  to  dash  at  full 


Io8  CELLINI 

speed  down  the  staircase;  then  I  took  my  decision  and  threw 
myself  upon  my  knees,  shouting  as  loudly  as  I  could,  for  he 
too  had  not  ceased  from  shouting:  "  If  an  infirmity  has 
blinded  me,  am  I  bound  to  go  on  working?"  He  retorted: 
"  You  saw  well  enough  to  make  your  way  hither,  and  I  don't 
believe  one  word  of  what  you  say."  I  answered,  for  I  noticed 
he  had  dropped  his  voice  a  little:  "  Let  your  Holiness  inquire 
of  your  physician,  and  you  will  find  the  truth  out."  He  said: 
"  So  ho!  softly;  at  leisure  we  shall  hear  if  what  you  say  is  so." 
Then,  perceiving  that  he  was  willing  to  give  me  hearing,  I 
added:  "I  am  convinced  that  the  only  cause  of  this  great 
trouble  which  has  happened  to  me  is  Cardinal  Salviati;  for 
he  sent  to  me  immediately  after  your  Holiness's  departure, 
and  when  I  presented  myself,  he  called  my  work  a  stew  of 
onions,  and  told  me  he  would  send  me  to  complete  it  in  a 
galley;  and  such  was  the  effect  upon  me  of  his  knavish  words, 
that  in  my  passion  I  felt  my  face  in  fiame,  and  so  intolerable 
a  heat  attacked  my  eyes  that  I  could  not  find  my  own  way 
home.  Two  days  afterward,  cataracts  fell  on  both  my  eyes; 
I  quite  lost  my  sight,  and  after  your  Holiness's  departure  I 
have  been  unable  to  work  at  all." 

Rising  from  my  knees,  I  left  the  presence  without  further 
license.  It  was  afterward  reported  to  me  that  the  Pope  had 
said:  "One  can  give  commissions,  but  not  the  prudence  to 
perform  them.  I  did  not  tell  the  Cardinal  to  go  so  brutally 
about  this  business.  If  it  is  true  that  he  is  suffering  from 
his  eyes,  of  which  I  shall  get  information  through  my  doctor, 
one  ought  to  make  allowance  for  him."  A  great  gentleman, 
intimate  with  the  Pope,  and  a  man  of  very  distinguished  parts, 
happened  to  be  present.  He  asked  who  I  was,  using  terms 
like  these:  "  Most  blessed  Father,  pardon  if  I  put  a  question. 
I  have  seen  you  yield  at  one  and  the  same  time  to  the  hottest 
anger  I  ever  observed,  and  then  to  the  warmest  compassion; 
so  I  beg  your  Holiness  to  tell  me  who  the  man  is;  for  if  he 
is  a  person  worthy  to  be  helped,  I  can  teach  him  a  secret  which 
may  cure  him  of  that  infirmity."  The  Pope  replied:  "He  is 
the  greatest  artist  who  was  ever  born  in  his  own  craft;  one 
day,  when  we  are  together,  I  will  show  you  some  of  his  mar- 
vellous works,  and  the  man  himself  to  boot;  and  I  shall  be 
pleased  if  we  can  see  our  way  toward  doing  something  to 
assist  him."    Three  days  after  this,  the  Pope  sent  for  me  after 


MEMOIRS 


109 


dinner-time,  and  I  found  that  great  noble  in  the  presence. 
On  my  arrival,  the  Pope  had  my  cope-button  brought,  and  I 
in  the  meantime  drew  forth  my  chalice.  The  nobleman  said, 
on  looking  at  it,  that  he  had  never  seen  a  more  stupendous 
piece  of  work.  When  the  button  came,  he  was  still  more 
struck  with  wonder:  and  looking  me  straight  in  the  face,  he 
added:  "  The  man  is  young,  I  trow,  to  be  so  able  in  his  art, 
and  still  apt  enough  to  learn  much."  He  then  asked  me  what 
my  name  was.  I  answered:  "  My  name  is  Benvenuto."  He 
replied:  "And  Benvenuto  shall  I  be  this  day  to  you.  Take 
flower-de-luces,  stalk,  blossom,  root,  together;  then  decoct 
them  over  a  slack  fire;  and  with  the  liquid  bathe  your  eyes 
several  times  a  day;  you  will  most  certainly  be  cured  of  that 
weakness;  but  see  that  you  purge  first,  and  then  go  forward 
with  the  lotion."  The  Pope  gave  me  some  kind  words,  and 
so  I  w'ent  away  half  satisfied. 

LIX 

It  w^as  true  indeed  that  I  had  got  the  sickness.  The  doc- 
tors did  not  know  what  it  was,  and  I  went  on  treating  myself 
according  to  their  methods,  but  derived  no  benefit.  At  last, 
then,  I  resolved  on  taking  another  treatment,  against  the 
advice  of  the  first  physicians  in  Rome;  and  I  took  it  with  the 
most  scrupulous  discipline  and  rules  of  abstinence  that  could 
be  thought  of;  and  after  a  few  days,  I  perceived  in  me  a  great 
amendment.  The  result  was  that  at  the  end  of  fifty  days  I 
was  cured  and  as  sound  as  a  fish  in  the  water. 

Some  time  afterward  I  sought  to  mend  my  shattered 
health,  and  with  this  view  I  betook  myself  to  shooting  when 
the  winter  came  in.  That  amusement,  however,  led  me  to 
expose  myself  to  wind  and  water,  and  to  staying  out  in  marsh- 
lands; so  that,  after  a  few  days,  I  fell  a  hundred  times  more 
ill  than  I  had  been  before.  I  put  myself  once  more  under 
doctors'  orders,  and  attended  to  their  directions,  but  grew 
always  worse.  When  the  fever  fell  upon  me,  I  resolved  on 
having  recourse  again  to  my  treatment;  but  the  doctors  for- 
bade it,  saying  that  if  I  did  it  with  the  fever  on  me,  I  should 
not  have  a  week  to  live.  However,  I  made  my  mind  up  to 
disobey  their  orders,  observed  the  same  diet  as  I  had  for- 
merly adopted,  and  after  drinking  the  decoction  four  days, 
was  wholly  rid  of  fever.     My  health  improved  enormously; 


I'lO  CELLINI 

and  while  I  was  following  this  cure,  I  went  on  always  work- 
ing at  the  models  of  the  chalice.  I  may  add  that,  during  the 
time  of  that  strict  abstinence,  I  produced  finer  things  and 
of  more  exquisite  invention  than  at  any  other  period  of  my 
life.  After  fifty  days  my  health  was  re-established,  and  I  con- 
tinued with  the  utmost  care  to  keep  it  and  confirm  it.  When 
at  last  I  ventured  to  relax  my  rigid  diet,  I  found  myself  as 
wholly  free  from  those  infirmities  as  though  I  had  been  born 
again.  Although  I  took  pleasure  in  fortifying  the  health  I  so 
much  longed  for,  yet  I  never  left  ofif  working;  both  the  chalice 
and  the  Mint  had  certainly  as  much  of  my  attention  as  was 
due  to  them  and  to  myself. 

LX 

It  happened  that  Cardinal  Salviati,  who,  as  I  have  related, 
entertained  an  old  hostility  against  me,  had  been  appointed 
Legate  to  Parma.  In  that  city  a  certain  Milanese  goldsmith, 
named  Tobbia,  was  taken  up  for  false  coining,  and  con- 
demned to  the  gallows  and  the  stake.  Representations  in 
his  favour,  as  being  a  man  of  great  ability,  were  made  to  the 
Cardinal,  who  suspended  the  execution  of  the  sentence,  and 
wrote  to  the  Pope,  saying  the  best  goldsmith  in  the  world 
had  come  into  his  hands,  sentenced  to  death  for  coining  false 
money,  but  that  he  was  a  good  simple  fellow,  who  could 
plead  in  his  excuse  that  he  had  taken  counsel  with  his  con- 
fessor, and  had  received,  as  he  said,  from  him  permission  to 
do  this.  Thereto  he  added:  "  If  you  send  for  this  great  artist 
to  Rome,  your  Holiness  will  bring  down  the  overweening 
arrogance  of  your  favourite  Benvenuto,  and  I  am  quite  cer- 
tain that  Tobbia's  work  will  please  you  far  more  than  his." 
The  Pope  accordingly  sent  for  him  at  once;  and  when  the 
man  arrived,  he  made  us  both  appear  before  him,  and  com- 
missioned each  of  us  to  furnish  a  design  for  mounting  an 
unicorn's  horn,  the  finest  which  had  ever  been  seen,  and 
which  had  been  sold  for  17,000  ducats  of  the  Camera.  The 
Pope  meant  to  give  it  to  King  Francis;  but  first  he  wished  it 
richly  set  in  gold,  and  ordered  us  to  make  sketches  for  this 
purpose.  When  they  were  finished,  we  took  them  to  the  Pope. 
That  of  Tobbia  was  in  the  form  of  a  candlestick,  the  horn 
being  stuck  in  it  like  a  candle,  and  at  the  base  of  the  piece  he 
had  introduced  four  little  unicorns'  heads  of  a  very  poor  de- 


MEMOIRS  III 

sign.  When  I  saw  the  thing,  I  could  not  refrain  from  laugh- 
ing gently  in  my  sleeve.  The  Pope  noticed  this,  and  cried: 
"Here,  show  me  your  sketch!"  It  was  a  single  unicorn's  head, 
proportioned  in  size  to  the  horn.  I  had  designed  the  finest 
head  imaginable;  for  I  took  it  partly  from  the  horse  and 
partly  from  the  stag,  enriching  it  with  fantastic  mane  and 
other  ornaments.  Accordingly,  no  sooner  was  it  seen,  than 
every  one  decided  in  my  favour.  There  were,  however,  pres- 
ent at  the  competition  certain  Milanese  gentlemen  of  the  first 
consequence,  who  said:  "  Most  blessed  Father,  your  Holi- 
ness is  sending  this  magnificent  present  into  France;  please 
to  reflect  that  the  French  are  people  of  no  culture,  and  will 
not  understand  the  excellence  of  Benvenuto's  work;  pyxes 
like  this  one  of  Tobbia's  will  suit  their  taste  well,  and  these 
too  can  be  finished  quicker.  Benvenuto  will  devote  himself 
to  completing  your  chalice,  and  you  will  get  two  pieces  done 
in  the  same  time;  moreover,  this  poor  man,  whom  you  have 
brought  to  Rome,  will  have  the  chance  to  be  employed." 
The  Pope,  who  was  anxious  to  obtain  his  chalice,  very  will- 
ingly adopted  the  advice  of  the  Milanese  gentlefolk. 

Next  day,  therefore,  he  commissioned  Tobbia  to  mount 
the  unicorn's  horn,  and  sent  his  Master  of  the  Wardrobe  to 
bid  me  finish  the  chalice.  I  replied  that  I  desired  nothing 
in  the  world  more  than  to  complete  the  beautiful  work  I  had 
begun:  and  if  the  material  had  been  anything  but  gold,  I 
could  very  easily  have  done  so  by  myself;  but  it  being  gold, 
his  Holiness  must  give  me  some  of  the  metal  if  he  w^anted 
me  to  get  through  with  my  work.  To  this  the  vulgar  courtier 
answered:  "  Zounds!  don't  ask  the  Pope  for  gold,  unless  you 
mean  to  drive  him  into  such  a  fury  as  will  ruin  you."  I  said: 
"  Oh,  my  good  lord,  will  your  lordship  please  to  tell  me  how 
one  can  make  bread  without  flour?  Even  so  without  gold 
this  piece  of  mine  can  not  be  finished."  The  Master  of  the 
Wardrobe,  having  an  inkling  that  I  had  made  a  fool  of  him, 
told  me  he  should  report  all  I  had  spoken  to  his  Holiness;  and 
this  he  did.  The  Pope  flew  into  a  bestial  passion,  and  swore 
he  would  wait  to  see  if  I  was  so  mad  as  not  to  finish  it.  More 
than  two  months  passed  thus;  and  though  I  had  declared  I 
would  not  give  a  stroke  to  the  chalice,  I  did  not  do  so,  but 
always  went  on  working  with  the  greatest  interest.  When  he 
perceived  I  was  not  going  to  bring  it,  he  began  to  display 


112  CELLINI 

real  displeasure,  and  protested  he  would  punish  me  in  one 
way  or  another. 

A  jeweller  from  Milan  in  the  Papal  service  happened  to 
be  present  when  these  words  were  spoken.  He  was  called 
Pompeo,  and  was  closely  related  to  Messer  Trajano,  the  most 
favoured  servant  of  Pope  Clement,  The  two  men  came,  upon 
a  common  understanding,  to  him  and  said:  "  If  your  Holiness 
were  to  deprive  Benvenuto  of  the  Mint,  perhaps  he  would 
take  it  into  his  head  to  complete  the  chalice."  To  this  the 
Pope  answered:  "No;  two  evil  things  would  happen:  first, 
I  should  be  ill  served  in  the  Mint,  which  concerns  me  greatly; 
and  secondly,  I  should  certainly  not  get  the  chalice."  The 
two  Milanese,  observing  the  Pope  indisposed  toward  me,  at 
last  so  far  prevailed  that  he  deprived  me  of  the  Mint,  and 
gave  it  to  a  young  Perugian,  commonly  known  as  Fagiuolo. 
Pompeo  came  to  inform  me  that  his  Holiness  had  taken  my 
place  in  the  Mint  away,  and  that  if  I  did  not  finish  the  chalice, 
he  would  deprive  me  of  other  things  besides.  I  retorted: 
"  Tell  his  Holiness  that  he  has  deprived  himself  and  not  me 
of  the  Mint,  and  that  he  will  be  doing  the  same  with  regard 
to  those  other  things  of  which  he  speaks;  and  that  if  he  wants 
to  confer  the  post  on  me  again,  nothing  will  induce  me  to 
accept  it."  The  graceless  and  unlucky  fellow  went  off  like 
an  arrow  to  find  the  Pope  and  report  this  conversation;  he 
added  also  something  of  his  own  invention.  Eight  days  later, 
the  Pope  sent  the  same  man  to  tell  me  that  he  did  not  mean 
me  to  finish  the  chalice,  and  wanted  to  have  it  back  precisely 
at  the  point  to  which  I  had  already  brought  it.  I  told  Pompeo: 
"  This  thing  is  not  like  the  Mint,  which  it  was  in  his  power 
to  take  away;  but  five  hundred  crowns  which  I  received  be- 
long to  his  Holiness,  and  I  am  ready  to  return  them;  the  piece 
itself  is  mine,  and  with  it  I  shall  do  what  I  think  best."  Pom- 
peo ran  oflf  to  report  my  speech,  together  with  some  biting 
words  which  in  my  righteous  anger  I  had  let  fly  at  himself. 

LXI 

After  the  lapse  of  three  days,  on  a  Thursday,  there  came 
to  me  two  favourite  Chamberlains  of  his  Ploliness;  one  of 
them  is  alive  now,  and  a  bishop;  he  was  called  Messer  Pier 
Giovanni,  and  was  an  officer  of  the  wardrobe;  the  other  could 
claim  nobler  birth,  but  his  name  has  escaped  me.     On  arriv- 


MEMOIRS 


"3 


ing  they  spoke  as  follows:  "The  Pope  hath  sent  us,  Ben- 
venuto;  and  since  you  have  not  chosen  to  comply  with  his 
request  on  easy  terms,  his  commands  now  are  that  either  you 
should  give  us  up  his  piece,  or  that  we  should  take  you  to 
prison."  Thereupon  I  looked  them  very  cheerfully  in  the 
face,  replying:  "  My  lords,  if  I  were  to  give  the  work  to  his 
Holiness,  I  should  be  giving  what  is  mine  and  not  his,  and  at 
present  I  have  no  intention  to  make  him  this  gift.  I  have 
brought  it  far  forward  with  great  labour,  and  do  not  want 
it  to  go  into  the  hands  of  some  ignorant  beast  who  will  de- 
stroy it  with  no  trouble."  While  I  spoke  thus,  the  goldsmith 
Tobbia  was  standing  by,  who  even  presumptviously  asked  me 
for  the  models  also  of  my  work.  What  I  retorted,  in  words 
worthy  of  such  a  rascal,  need  not  here  be  repeated.  Then, 
when  those  gentlemen,  the  Chamberlains,  kept  urging  me  to  do 
quickly  what  I  meant  to  do,  I  told  them  I  was  ready.  So  I 
took  my  cape  up,  and  before  I  left  the  shop,  I  turned  to  an 
image  of  Christ,  with  solemn  reverence  and  cap  in  hand,  pray- 
ing as  thus:  "  O  gracious  and  undying,  just  and  holy  our 
Lord,  all  the  things  thou  doest  are  according  to  thy  justice, 
which  hath  no  peer  on  earth.  Thou  knowest  that  I  have  ex- 
actly reached  the  age  of  thirty,  and  that  up  to  this  hour  I  was 
never  threatened  with  a  prison  for  any  of  my  actions.  Now 
that  it  is  thy  will  that  I  should  go  to  prison,  WMth  all  my  heart 
I  thank  thee  for  this  dispensation."  Thereat  I  turned  round 
to  the  two  Chamberlains,  and  addressed  them  with  a  certain 
lowering  look  I  have:  "A  man  of  my  quality  deserved  no 
meaner  catchpoles  than  your  lordships:  place  me  between 
you,  and  take  me  as  your  prisoner  where  you  like."  Those 
two  gentlemen,  with  the  most  perfect  manners,  burst  out 
laughing,  and  put  me  between  them;  and  so  we  went  off, 
talking  pleasantly,  until  they  brought  me  to  the  Governor 
of  Rome,  who  was  called  II  Magalotto.^  WHien  I  reached 
him  (and  the  Procurator-Fiscal  was  with  him,  both  waiting 
for  me),  the  Pope's  Chamberlains,  still  laughing,  said  to  the 
Governor:  "We  give  up  to  you  this  prisoner;  now  see  you 
take  good  care  of  him.  We  are  very  glad  to  have  acted  in 
the  place  of  your  agents;  for  Benvenuto  has  told  us  that  this 

'  Gregorio  Magalotti  was  a  Roman.     The  Procurator-Fiscal  was  then 
Benedetto  Valenti.     Matjalotti  is  said  to  have  discharged  his  office  with 
extreme  severity,  and  to  have  run  great  risks  of  his  life  in  consequence. 
8 


114 


CELLINI 


being  his  first  arrest,  he  deserved  no  catchpoles  of  inferior 
station  than  we  are."  Immediately  on  leaving  us,  they  sought 
the  Pope;  and  when  they  had  minutely  related  the  whole 
matter,  he  made  at  first  as  though  he  would  give  way  to  pas- 
sion, but  afterward  he  put  control  upon  himself  and  laughed, 
because  there  were  then  in  the  presence  certain  lords  and 
cardinals,  my  friends,  who  had  warmly  espoused  my  cause. 

Meanwhile,  the  Governor  and  the  Fiscal  were  at  me,  partly 
bullying,  partly  expostulating,  partly  giving  advice,  and  say- 
ing it  was  only  reason  that  a  man  who  ordered  work  from 
another  should  be  able  to  withdraw  it  at  his  choice,  and  in 
any  way  which  he  thought  best.  To  this  I  replied  that  such 
proceedings  were  not  warranted  by  justice,  neither  could  a 
Pope  act  thus;  for  that  a  Pope  is  not  of  the  same  kind  as  cer- 
tain petty  tyrant  princes,  who  treat  their  folk  as  badly  as  they 
can,  without  regard  to  law  or  justice;  and  so  a  Vicar  of  Christ 
may  not  commit  any  of  these  acts  of  violence.  Thereat  the 
Governor,  assuming  his  police-court  style  of  threatening  and 
bullying,  began  to  say:  "  Benvenuto,  Benvenuto,  you  are 
going  about  to  make  me  treat  you  as  you  deserve."  "  You 
will  treat  me  with  honour  and  courtesy,  if  you  wish  to  act  as 
I  deserve."  Taking  me  up  again,  he  cried:  "Send  for  the 
work  at  once,  and  don't  wait  for  a  second  order."  I  re- 
sponded :  "  My  lords,  grant  me  the  favour  of  being  allowed 
to  say  four  more  words  in  my  defence."  The  Fiscal,  who  was 
a  far  more  reasonable  agent  of  police  than  the  Governor, 
turned  to  him  and  said:  "  Monsignor,  suppose  we  let  him  say 
a  hundred  words,  if  he  likes:  so  long  as  he  gives  up  the  work, 
that  is  enough  for  us."  I  spoke:  "  If  any  man  you  like  to 
name  had  ordered  a  palace  or  a  house  to  be  built,  he  could 
with  justice  tell  the  master-mason:  '  I  do  not  want  you  to  go 
on  working  at  my  house  or  palace; '  and  after  paying  him  his 
labour,  he  would  have  the  right  to  dismiss  him.  Likewise, 
if  a  nobleman  gave  commission  for  a  jewel  of  a  thousand 
crowns'  value  to  be  set,  when  he  saw  that  the  jeweller  was 
not  serving  him  according  to  his  desire,  he  could  say:  '  Give 
me  back  my  stone,  for  I  do  not  want  your  work.'  But  in  a 
case  of  this  kind  none  of  those  considerations  apply;  there 
is  neither  house  nor  jewel  here;  nobody  can  command  me 
further  than  that  I  should  return  the  five  hundred  crowns 
which  I  have  had.    Therefore,  monsignori,  do  everything  you 


MEMOIRS  115 

can  do;  for  you  will  get  nothing  from  me  beyond  the  five 

hundred  crowns.    Go  and  say  this  to  the  Pope.    Your  threats 

do  not  frighten  me  at  all;  for  I  am  an  honest  man,  and  stand 

in  no  fear  of  my  sins."     The  Governor  and  Fiscal  rose,  and 

said  they  were  going  to  the  Pope,  and  should  return  with 

orders  which  I  should  soon  learn  to  my  cost.     So  I  remained 

there  under  guard.     I  walked  up  and  down  a  large  hall,  and 

they  were  about  three  hours  away  before  they  came  back  from 

the  Pope.     In  that  while  the  flower  of  our  nation  among  the 

merchants  came  to  visit  me,  imploring  me  not  to  persist  in 

contending  with  a  Pope,  for  this  might  be  the  ruin  of  me.     I 

answered  them  that  I  had  made  my  mind  up  quite  well  what 

I  wished  to  do. 

LXII 

No  sooner  had  the  Governor  returned,  together  with  the 
Procurator,  from  the  palace,  than  he  sent  for  me,  and  spoke 
to  this  effect:  "  Benvenuto,  I  am  certainly  sorry  to  come  back 
from  the  Pope  with  such  commands  as  I  have  received;  you 
must  either  produce  the  chalice  on  the  instant,  or  look  to  your 
affairs."  Then  I  replied  that  "  inasmuch  as  I  had  never  to 
that  hour  believed  a  holy  Vicar  of  Christ  could  commit  an 
unjust  act,  so  I  should  like  to  see  it  before  I  did  believe  it; 
therefore  do  the  utmost  that  you  can."  The  Governor  re- 
joined: "  I  have  to  report  a  couple  of  words  more  from  the 
Pope  to  you,  and  then  I  will  execute  the  orders  given  me. 
He  says  that  you  must  bring  your  work  to  me  here,  and  that 
after  I  have  seen  it  put  into  a  box  and  sealed,  I  must  take 
it  to  him.  He  engages  his  word  not  to  break  the  seal,  and  to 
return  the  piece  to  you  untouched.  But  this  much  he  wants 
to  have  done,  in  order  to  preserve  his  own  honour  in  the 
affair."  In  return  to  this  speech,  I  answered,  laughing,  that  I 
would  very  willingly  give  up  my  work  in  the  w^ay  he  men- 
tioned, because  I  should  be  glad  to  know  for  certain  what  a 
Pope's  word  was  really  worth. 

Accordingly,  I  sent  for  my  piece,  and  having  had  it  sealed 
as  described,  gave  it  up  to  him.  The  Governor  repaired  again 
to  the  Pope,  who  took  the  box,  according  to  w^hat  the  Gov- 
ernor himself  told  me,  and  turned  it  several  times  about.  Then 
he  asked  the  Governor  if  he  had  seen  the  work ;  and  he  replied 
that  he  had,  and  that  it  had  been  sealed  up  in  his  pres- 
ence, and  added  that  it  had  struck  him  as  a  very  admirable 


Il6  CELLINI 

piece.  Thereupon  the  Pope  said:  "  You  shall  tell  Benvenuto 
tiiat  Popes  have  authority  to  bind  and  loose  things  of  far 
greater  consequence  than  this;"  and  while  thus  speaking  he 
opened  the  box  with  some  show  of  anger,  taking  off  the  string 
and  seals  with  which  it  was  done  up.  Afterward  he  paid  it 
prolonged  attention;  and,  as  I  subsequently  heard,  showed  it 
to  Tobbia  the  goldsmith,  who  bestowed  much  praise  upon  it. 
Then  the  Pope  asked  him  if  he  felt  equal  to  producing  a  piece 
in  that  style.  On  his  saying  yes,  the  Pope  told  him  to  follow 
it  out  exactly;  then  turned  to  the  Governor  and  said:  "See 
whether  Benvenuto  will  give  it  up;  for  if  he  does,  he  shall 
receive  the  value  fixed  on  it  by  men  of  knowledge  in  this  art; 
but  if  he  is  really  bent  on  finishing  it  himself,  let  him  name  a 
certain  time;  and  if  vou  are  convinced  that  he  means  to  do 
it,  let  him  have  all  the  reasonable  accommodations  he  may 
ask  for."  The  Governor  replied:  "  Most  blessed  Father,  I 
know  the  violent  temper  of  this  young  man;  so  let  me  have 
authority  to  give  him  a  sound  rating  after  my  own  fashion." 
The  Pope  told  him  to  do  what  he  liked  with  words,  though 
he  was  sure  he  would  make  matters  worse;  and  if  at  last  he 
could  do  nothing  else,  he  must  order  me  to  take  the  five  hun- 
dred crowns  to  his  jeweller,  Pompeo. 

The  Governor  returned,  sent  for  me  into  his  cabinet,  and 
casting  one  of  his  catchpole's  glances,  began  to  speak  as 
follows:  "  Popes  have  authority  to  loose  and  bind  the  whole 
world,  and  what  they  do  is  immediately  ratified  in  heaven. 
Behold  your  box,  then,  which  has  been  opened  and  inspected 
by  his  Holiness."  I  lifted  up  my  voice  at  once,  and  said: 
*'  I  thank  God  that  now  I  have  learned  and  can  report  what 
the  faith  of  Popes  is  made  of."  Then  the  Governor  launched 
out  into  brutal  bullying  words  and  gestures;  but  perceiving 
that  they  came  to  nothing,  he  gave  up  his  attempt  as  des- 
perate, and  spoke  in  somewhat  milder  tones  after  this  wise: 
"  Benvenuto,  I  am  very  sorry  that  you  are  so  blind  to  your 
own  interest;  but  since  it  is  so,  go  and  take  the  five  hundred 
crowns,  when  you  think  fit,  to  Pompeo."  I  took  my  piece  up, 
went  away,  and  carried  the  crowns  to  Pompeo  on  the  instant. 
It  is  most  likely  that  the  Pope  had  counted  on  some  want  of 
money  or  other  opportunity  preventing  me  from  bringing  so 
considerable  a  sum  at  once,  and  was  anxious  in  this  way  to 
repiece  the  broken  thread  of  my  obedience.     When  then  he 


MEMOIRS 


ii; 


saw  Pompeo  coming  to  him  with  a  smile  upon  his  hps  and 
the  money  in  his  hand,  he  soundly  rated  him,  and  lamented 
that  the  affair  had  turned  out  so.  Then  he  said:  "  Go  find 
Benvenuto  in  his  shop,  and  treat  him  with  all  the  courtesies 
of  which  your  ignorant  and  brutal  nature  is  capable,  and  tell 
him  that  if  he  is  willing  to  finish  that  piece  for  a  reliquary  to 
hold  the  Corpus  Domini  when  I  walk  in  procession,  I  will 
allow  him  the  conveniences  he  wants  in  order  to  complete  it; 
provided  only  that  he  goes  on  working."  Pompeo  came  to 
me,  called  me  outside  the  shop,  and  heaped  on  me  the  most 
mawkish  caresses  of  a  donkey,  reporting  everything  the  Pope 
had  ordered.  I  lost  no  time  in  answering  that  "  the  greatest 
treasure  I  could  wish  for  in  the  world  was  to  regain  the  favour 
of  so  great  a  Pope,  which  had  been  lost  to  me,  not  indeed 
by  my  fault,  but  by  the  fault  of  my  overwhelming  illness  and 
the  wickedness  of  those  envious  men  who  take  pleasure  in 
making  mischief;  and  since  the  Pope  has  plenty  of  servants, 
do  not  let  him  send  you  round  again,  if  you  value  your  life 
.  .  .  nay,  look  well  to  your  safety.  I  shall  not  fail,  by  night 
or  day,  to  think  and  do  everything  I  can  in  the  Pope's  service; 
and  bear  this  well  in  mind,  that  when  you  have  reported  these 
words  to  his  Holiness,  you  never  in  any  way  whatever  meddle 
with  the  least  of  my  affairs,  for  I  will  make  you  recognise 
your  errors  by  the  punishment  they  merit."  The  fellow  re- 
lated everything  to  the  Pope,  but  in  far  more  brutal  terms 
than  I  had  used;  and  thus  the  matter  rested  for  a  time  while 
I  again  attended  to  my  shop  and  business. 

LXIII 

Tobbia  the  goldsmith  meanwhile  worked  at  the  setting  and 
the  decoration  of  the  unicorn's  horn.  The  Pope,  moreover, 
commissioned  him  to  begin  the  chalice  upon  the  model  he 
had  seen  in  mine.  But  when  Tobbia  came  to  show  him  what 
he  had  done,  he  was  very  discontented,  and  greatly  regretted 
that  he  had  broken  with  me,  blaming  all  the  other  man's 
works  and  the  people  who  had  introduced  them  to  him;  and 
several  times  Baccino  della  Croce  came  from  him  to  tell  me 
that  I  must  not  neglect  the  reliquary.  I  answered  that  I 
begged  his  Holiness  to  let  me  breathe  a  little  after  the  great 
illness  which  I  had  suffered,  and  from  which  I  was  not  as  yet 
wholly  free,  adding  that  I  would  make  it  clear  to  him  that  all 


jl8  CELLINI 

the  hours  in  which  I  could  work  should  be  spent  in  his  service. 
I  had  indeed  begun  to  make  his  portrait,  and  was  executing 
a  medal  in  secret.  I  fashioned  the  steel  dies  for  stamping  this 
medal  in  my  own  house;  while  I  kept  a  partner  in  my  work- 
shop, who  had  been  my  prentice  and  was  called  Felice. 

At  that  time,  as  is  the  wont  of  young  men,  I  had  fallen 
in  love  with  a  Sicilian  girl,  who  was  exceedingly  beautiful. 
On  it  becoming  clear  that  she  returned  my  affection,  her 
mother  perceived  how  the  matter  stood,  and  grew  suspicious 
of  what  might  happen.  The  truth  is  that  I  had  arranged 
to  elope  with  the  girl  for  a  year  to  Florence,  unknown  to  her 
mother;  but  she,  getting  wind  of  this,  left  Rome  secretly  one 
night,  and  went  off  in  the  direction  of  Naples.  She  gave 
out  that  she  was  gone  by  Civita  Vecchia,  but  she  really  went 
by  Ostia.  I  followed  them  to  Civita  Vecchia,  and  did  a  mul- 
titude of  mad  things  to  discover  her.  It  would  be  too  long 
to  narrate  them  all  in  detail;  enough  that  I  was  on  the  point 
of  losing  my  wits  or  dying.  After  two  months  she  wrote 
to  me  that  she  was  in  Sicily,  extremely  unhappy.  I  mean- 
while was  indulging  myself  in  all  the  pleasures  man  can  think 
of,  and  had  engaged  in  another  love  affair,  merely  to  drown 
the  memory  of  my  real  passion. 

LXIV 

It  happened  through  a  variety  of  singular  accidents  that  I 
became  intimate  with  a  Sicilian  priest,  who  was  a  man  of  very 
elevated  genius  and  well  instructed  in  both  Latin  and  Greek 
letters.  In  the  course  of  conversation  one  day  we  were  led 
to  talk  about  the  art  of  necromancy;  apropos  of  which  I  said: 
"  Throughout  my  whole  life  I  have  had  the  most  intense  de- 
sire to  see  or  learn  something  of  this  art."  Thereto  the  priest 
replied:  "A  stout  soul  and  a  steadfast  must  the  man  have  who 
sets  himself  to  such  an  enterprise."  I  answered  that  of  strength 
and  steadfastness  of  soul  I  should  have  enough  and  to  spare, 
provided  I  found  the  opportunity.  Then  the  priest  said:  "If 
you  have  the  heart  to  dare  it,  I  will  amply  satisfy  your  curi- 
osity." Accordingly  we  agreed  upon  attempting  the  adventure. 

The  priest  one  evening  made  his  preparations,  and  bade 
me  find  a  comrade,  or  not  more  than  two.  I  invited  Vincenzio 
Romoli,  a  very  dear  friend  of  mine,  and  the  priest  took  with 
him  a  native  of  Pistoja,  who  also  cultivated  the  black  art. 


MEMOIRS  Iig 

We  went  together  to  the  Coliseum ;  and  there  the  priest,  hav- 
ing arrayed  himself  in  necromancer's  robes,  began  to  describe 
circles  on  the  earth  with  the  finest  ceremonies  that  can  be 
imagined.  I  must  say  that  he  had  made  us  bring  precious 
perfumes  and  fire,  and  also  drugs  of  fetid  odour.  W  hen  the 
preliminaries  were  completed,  he  made  the  entrance  into  the 
circle;  and  taking  us  by  the  hand,  introduced  us  one  by  one 
inside  it.  Then  he  assigned  our  several  functions;  to  the 
necromancer,  his  comrade,  he  gave  the  pentacle  to  hold;  the 
other  two  of  us  had  to  look  after  the  fire  and  the  perfumes; 
and  then  he  began  his  incantations.  This  lasted  more  than 
an  hour  and  a  half;  when  several  legions  appeared,  and  the 
Coliseum  was  all  full  of  devils.  I  was  occupied  with  the  pre- 
cious perfumes,  and  when  the  priest  perceived  in  what  num- 
bers they  were  present,  he  turned  to  me  and  said:  "  Benve- 
nuto,  ask  them  something."  I  called  on  them  to  reunite  me 
with  my  Sicilian  Angelica.  That  night  we  obtained  no  an- 
swer; but  I  enjoyed  the  greatest  satisfaction  of  my  curiosity 
in  such  matters.  The  necromancer  said  that  we  should  have 
to  go  a  second  time,  and  that  I  should  obtain  the  full  accom- 
plishment of  my  request;  but  he  w^ished  me  to  bring  with  me 
a  little  boy. 

I  chose  one  of  my  shop-lads,  who  was  about  twelve  years 
old,  and  invited  Vincenzio  Romoli  again;  and  we  also  took 
a  certain  Agnolino  Gaddi,  who  was  a  very  intimate  friend 
of  both.  When  we  came  once  more  to  the  place  appointed, 
the  necromancer  made  just  the  same  preparations,  attended 
by  the  same  and  even  more  impressive  details.  Then  he 
introduced  us  into  the  circle,  which  he  had  reconstructed 
with  art  more  admirable  and  yet  more  wondrous  ceremonies. 
Afterward  he  appointed  my  friend  Vincenzio  to  the  ordering 
of  the  perfumes  and  the  fire,  and  with  him  Agnolino  Gaddi. 
He  next  placed  in  my  hand  the  pentacle,  which  he  bid  me 
turn  toward  the  points  he  indicated,  and  under  the  pentacle 
I  held  the  little  boy,  my  workman.  Now  the  necromancer 
began  to  utter  those  awful  invocations,  calling  by  name  on 
multitudes  of  demons  who  are  captains  of  their  legions,  and 
these  he  summoned  by  the  virtue  and  potency  of  God,  the 
Uncreated,  Living,  and  Eternal,  in  phrases  of  the  Hebrew, 
and  also  of  the  Greek  and  Latin  tongues;  insomuch  that  in 
a  short  space  of  time  the  whole  Coliseum  was  full  of  a  hun- 


,1* 


I20  CELLINI 

drcdfold  as  many  as  had  appeared  upon  the  first  occasion. 
Vincenzio  RomoH,  together  with  Agnohno,  tended  the  fire 
and  heaped  on  quantities  of  precious  perfumes.  At  the  ad- 
vice of  the  necromancer,  I  again  demanded  to  be  reunited 
with  AngeHca.  The  sorcerer  turned  to  me  and  said:  "  Hear 
you  what  they  have  rephed;  that  in  the  space  of  one  month 
you  will  be  where  she  is?  "  Then  once  more  he  prayed  me 
to  stand  firm  by  him,  because  the  legions  were  a  thousandfold 
more  than  he  had  summoned,  and  were  the  most  dangerous 
of  all  the  denizens  of  hell;  and  now  that  they  had  settled 
what  I  asked,  it  behoved  us  to  be  civil  to  them  and  dismiss 
them  gently.  On  the  other  side,  the  boy,  who  was  beneath 
the  pentacle,  shrieked  out  in  terror  that  a  million  of  the  fiercest 
men  were  swarming  round  and  threatening  us.  He  said, 
moreover,  that  four  huge  giants  had  appeared,  who  were  striv- 
ing to  force  their  way  inside  the  circle.  Meanwhile  the  necro- 
mancer, trembling  with  fear,  kept  doing  his  best  with  mild 
and  soft  persuasions  to  dismiss  them.  Vincenzio  Romoli, 
who  quaked  like  an  aspen  leaf,  looked  after  the  perfumes. 
Though  I  was  quite  as  frightened  as  the  rest  of  them,  I  tried 
to  show  it  less,  and  inspired  them  all  with  marvellous  cour- 
age ;  but  the  truth  is  that  I  had  given  myself  up  for  dead  when 
I  saw  the  terror  of  the  necromancer.  The  boy  had  stuck 
his  head  between  his  knees,  exclaiming:  "This  is  how  I  will 
meet  death,  for  we  are  certainly  dead  men."  Again  I  said 
to  him :  "  These  creatures  are  all  inferior  to  us,  and  what  you 
see  is  only  smoke  and  shadow;  so  then  raise  your  eyes." 
When  he  had  raised  them  he  cried  out:  "  The  whole  Coliseum 
is  in  flames,  and  the  fire  is  advancing  on  us;"  then  covering 
his  face  with  his  hands,  he  groaned  again  that  he  was  dead, 
and  that  he  could  not  endure  the  sight  longer.  The  necro- 
mancer appealed  for  my  support,  entreating  me  to  stand  firm 
by  him,  and  to  have  assafetida  flung  upon  the  coals;  so  I 
turned  to  Vincenzio  Romoli,  and  told  him  to  make  the  fumi- 
gation at  once.  While  uttering  these  words  I  looked  at  Ag- 
nolino  Gaddi,  whose  eyes  were  starting  from  their  sockets  in 
his  terror,  and  who  was  more  than  half  dead,  and  said  to 
him:  "  Agnolo,  in  time  and  place  like  this  we  must  not  yield 
to  fright,  but  do  the  utmost  to  bestir  ourselves;  therefore,  up 
at  once,  and  fling  a  handful  of  that  assafetida  upon  the  fire." 
The  boy,  roused  by  that  great  stench  and  noise,  lifted  his  face 


MEMOIRS  121 

a  little,  and  hearing  me  laugh,  he  plucked  up  courage,  and 
said  the  devils  were  taking  to  flight  tempestuously.  So  we 
abode  thus  until  the  matin-bells  began  to  sound.  Then  the 
boy  told  us  again  that  but  few  remained,  and  those  were  at 
a  distance.  When  the  necromancer  had  concluded  his  cere- 
monies, he  put  off  his  wizard's  robe,  and  packed  up  a  great 
bundle  of  books  which  he  had  brought  with  him;  then,  all 
together,  we  issued  with  him  from  the  circle,  huddling  as 
close  as  we  could  to  one  another,  especially  the  boy,  who 
had  got  into  the  middle,  and  taken  the  necromancer  by  his 
gown  and  me  by  the  cloak.  All  the  while  that  we  were  going 
toward  our  houses  in  the  Banchi,  he  kept  saying  that  two  of 
the  devils  he  had  seen  in  the  Coliseum  were  gambolling  in 
front  of  us,  skipping  now  along  the  roofs  and  now  upon  the 
ground.  The  necromancer  assured  me  that,  often  as  he  had 
entered  magic  circles,  he  had  never  met  with  such  a  serious 
affair  as  this.  He  also  tried  to  persuade  me  to  assist  him  in 
consecrating  a  book,  by  means  of  which  we  should  extract 
immeasurable  wealth,  since  we  could  call  up  fiends  to  show 
us  where  treasures  were,  whereof  the  earth  is  full;  and  after 
this  wise  we  should  become  the  richest  of  mankind:  love 
affairs  like  mine  were  nothing  but  vanities  and  follies  with- 
out consequence.  I  replied  that  if  I  were  a  Latin  scholar 
I  should  be  very  willing  to  do  what  he  suggested.  He  con- 
tinued to  persuade  me  by  arguing  that  Latin  scholarship  was 
of  no  importance,  and  that,  if  he  wanted,  he  could  have  found 
plenty  of  good  Latinists;  but  that  he  had  never  met  with  a 
man  of  soul  so  firm  as  mine,  and  that  I  ought  to  follow  his 
counsel.  Engaged  in  this  conversation,  we  reached  our 
homes,  and  each  one  of  us  dreamed  all  that  night  of  devils. 

LXV 

As  we  were  in  the  habit  of  meeting  daily,  the  necromancer 
kept  urging  me  to  join  in  his  adventure.  Accordingly,  I  asked 
him  how  long  it  would  take,  and  where  we  should  have  to 
go.  To  this  he  answered  that  we  might  get  through  with  it 
in  less  than  a  month,  and  that  the  most  suitable  locality  for 
the  purpose  was  the  hill  country  of  Norcia;^  a  master  of  his 

'  This  district  of  the  Central  Apennines  was  always  famous  for 
witches,  poisoners,  and  so  forth.  The  Farfa  mentioned  below  is  a  village 
of  the  Sabine  hills. 


122  CELLINI 

in  the  art  had  indeed  consecrated  such  a  book  quite  close  to 
Rome,  at  a  place  called  the  Badia  di  Farfa;  but  he  had  met 
with  some  difficulties  there,  which  would  not  occur  in  the 
mountains  of  Norcia;  the  peasants  also  of  that  district  are 
people  to  be  trusted,  and  have  some  practice  in  these  mat- 
ters, so  that  at  a  pinch  they  are  able  to  render  valuable  assist- 
ance. 

This  priestly  sorcerer  moved  me  so  by  his  persuasions  that 
I  was  well  disposed  to  comply  with  his  request;  but  I  said 
I  wanted  first  to  finish  the  medals  I  was  making  for  the  Pope. 
I  had  confided  what  I  was  doing  about  them  to  him  alone, 
begging  him  to  keep  my  secret.  At  the  same  time  I  never 
stopped  asking  him  if  he  believed  that  I  should  be  reunited 
to  my  Sicilian  Angelica  at  the  time  appointed;  for  the  date 
was  drawing  near,  and  I  thought  it  singular  that  I  heard  noth- 
ing about  her.  The  necromancer  told  me  that  it  was  quite 
certain  I  should  find  myself  where  she  was,  since  the  devils 
never  break  their  word  when  they  promise,  as  they  did  on 
that  occasion;  but  he  bade  me  keep  my  eyes  open,  and  be 
on  the  lookout  against  some  accident  which  might  happen 
to  me  in  that  connection,  and  put  restraint  upon  myself  to 
endure  somewhat  against  my  inclination,  for  he  could  discern 
a  great  and  imminent  danger  in  it:  well  would  it  be  for  me  if 
I  went  with  him  to  consecrate  the  book,  since  this  would 
avert  the  peril  that  menaced  me,  and  would  make  us  both 
most  fortunate. 

I  was  beginning  to  hanker  after  the  adventure  more  than 
he  did;  but  I  said  that  a  certain  Maestro  Giovanni  of  Castel 
Bolognese  had  just  come  to  Rome,  very  ingenious  in  the  art 
of  making  medals  of  the  sort  I  made  in  steel,  and  that  I 
thirsted  for  nothing  more  than  to  compete  with  him  and  take 
the  world  by  storm  with  some  great  masterpiece,  which  I 
hoped  would  annihilate  all  those  enemies  of  mine  by  the  force 
of  genius  and  not  the  sword. ^  The  sorcerer  on  his  side  went 
on  urging:  "  Nay,  prithee,  Benvenuto,  come  with  me  and 
shun  a  great  disaster  which  I  see  impending  over  you." 
However,  I  had  made  my  mind  up,  come  what  would,  to 

'  Gio.  Bernard!  had  been  in  the  Duke  of  Ferrara's  service.  Giovio 
brought  him  to  Rome,  where  he  was  patronized  by  the  Cardinals  Salviati 
and  De'  Medici.  He  made  a  famous  medal  of  Clement  VII,  and  was  a 
Pontifical  mace-bearer,     He  died  at  Faenza  in  1555. 


MEMOIRS 


123 


finish  my  medal,  and  we  were  now  approaching  the  end  of 
the  month.  I  was  so  absorbed  and  enamoured  by  my  work 
that  I  thought  no  more  about  Angelica  or  anything  of  that 
kind,  but  gave  my  whole  self  up  to  it. 

LXVI 

It  happened  one  day,  close  on  the  hours  of  vespers,  that 
I  had  to  go  at  an  unusual  time  for  me  from  my  house  to  my 
workshop;  for  I  ought  to  say  that  the  latter  was  in  the  Banchi, 
while  I  lived  behind  the  Banchi,  and  went  rarely  to  the  shop; 
all  my  business  there  I  left  in  the  hands  of  my  partner,  Felice. 
Having  stayed  a  short  while  in  the  workshop,  I  remembered 
that  I  had  to  say  something  to  Alessandro  del  Bene.  So  I 
arose,  and  when  I  reached  the  Banchi,  I  met  a  man  called 
Ser  Benedetto,  who  was  a  great  friend  of  mine.  He  was  a 
notary,  born  in  Florence,  son  of  a  blind  man  who  said  prayers 
about  the  streets  for  alms,  and  a  Sienese  by  race.  This  Ser 
Benedetto  had  been  very  many  years  at  Naples;  afterward 
he  had  settled  in  Rome,  where  he  transacted  business  for 
some  Sienese  merchants  of  the  Chigi.  My  partner  had  over 
and  over  again  asked  him  for  some  moneys  which  were  due 
for  certain  little  rings  confided  to  Ser  Benedetto.  That  very 
day,  meeting  him  in  the  Banchi,  he  demanded  his  money 
rather  roughly,  as  his  wont  was.  Benedetto  was  walking  with 
his  masters,  and  they,  annoyed  by  the  interruption,  scolded 
him  sharply,  saying  they  would  be  served  by  somebody  else, 
in  order  not  to  have  to  listen  to  such  barking.  Ser  Benedetto 
did  the  best  he  could  to  excuse  himself,  swore  that  he  had  paid 
the  goldsmith,  and  said  he  had  no  power  to  curb  the  rage 
of  madmen.  The  Sienese  took  his  words  ill,  and  dismissed 
him  on  the  spot.  Leaving  them,  he  ran  like  an  arrow  to  my 
shop,  probably  to  take  revenge  upon  Felice.  It  chanced 
that  just  in  the  middle  of  the  street  we  met.  I,  who  had 
heard  nothing  of  the  matter,  greeted  him  most  kindly,  accord- 
ing to  my  custom,  to  which  courtesy  he  replied  with  insults. 
Then  what  the  sorcerer  had  said  flashed  all  at  once  upon  my 
mind;  and  bridling  myself  as  well  as  I  was  able,  in  the  way 
he  bade  me,  I  answered:  "Good  brother  Benedetto,  don't 
fly  into  a  rage  with  me,  for  I  have  done  you  no  harm,  nor 
do  I  know  anything  about  these  affairs  of  yours.  Please  go 
and  finish  what  you  have  to  do  with  Felice.     He  is  quite 


i«h.' 


124 


CELLINI 


capable  of  giving  you  a  proper  answer;  but  inasmuch  as  I 
know  nothing  about  it,  you  are  wrong  to  abuse  me  in  this 
way,  especially  as  you  are  well  aware  that  I  am  not  the  man 
to  put  up  with  insults."  He  retorted  that  I  knew  everything, 
and  that  he  was  the  man  to  make  me  bear  a  heavier  load 
than  that,  and  that  Felice  and  I  were  two  great  rascals.  By 
this  time  a  crowd  had  gathered  round  to  hear  the  quarrel. 
Provoked  by  his  ugly  words,  I  stooped  and  took  up  a  lump 
of  mud — for  it  had  rained — and  hurled  it  with  a  quick  and 
unpremeditated  movement  at  his  face.  He  ducked  his  head, 
so  that  the  mud  hit  him  in  the  middle  of  the  skull.  There  was 
a  stone  in  it  with  several  sharp  angles,  one  of  which  striking 
him,  he  fell  stunned  like  a  dead  man:  whereupon  all  the  by- 
standers, seeing  the  great  quantity  of  blood,  judged  that  he 

was  really  dead. 

LXVII 

While  he  was  still  lying  on  the  ground,  and  people  were 
preparing  to  carry  him  away,  Pompeo  the  jeweller  passed  by. 
The  Pope  had  sent  for  him  to  give  orders  about  some  jewels. 
Seeing  the  fellow  in  such  a  miserable  plight,  he  asked  who 
had  struck  him;  on  which  they  told  him:  "  Benvenuto  did  it, 
but  the  stupid  creature  brought  it  down  upon  himself."  No 
sooner  had  Pompeo  reached  the  Pope  than  he  began  to  speak : 
"  Most  blessed  Father,  Benvenuto  has  this  very  moment  mur- 
dered Tobbia ;  I  saw  it  with  my  own  eyes."  On  this  the  Pope 
in  a  fury  ordered  the  Governor,  who  was  in  the  presence,  to 
take  and  hang  me  at  once  in  the  place  where  the  homicide 
had  been  committed,  adding  that  he  must  do  all  he  could  to 
catch  me,  and  not  appear  again  before  him  until  he  had 
hanged  me. 

When  I  saw  the  unfortunate  Benedetto  stretched  upon 
the  ground,  I  thought  at  once  of  the  peril  I  was  in,  consider- 
ing the  power  of  my  enemies,  and  what  might  ensue  from 
this  disaster.  Making  ofi,  I  took  refuge  in  the  house  of  Messer 
Giovanni  Gaddi,  clerk  of  the  Camera,  with  the  intention  of 
preparing  as  soon  as  possible  to  escape  from  Rome.  He, 
however,  advised  me  not  to  be  in  such  a  hurry,  for  it  might 
turn  out  perhaps  that  the  evil  was  not  so  great  as  I  imagined; 
and  calling  Messer  Annibal  Caro,  who  lived  with  him,  bade 
him  go  for  information. 

While  these  arrangements  were  being   made,  a   Roman 


/ 
/ 
/ 


MEMOIRS 


125 


gentleman  appeared,  who  belonged  to  the  household  of  Car- 
dinal dc'  Medici,  and  had  been  sent  by  him.*  Taking  Messer 
Giovanni  and  me  apart,  he  told  us  that  the  Cardinal  had  re- 
ported to  him  what  the  Pope  said,  and  that  there  was  no  way 
of  helping  me  out  of  the  scrape;  it  would  be  best  for  me 
to  shun  the  first  fury  of  the  storm  by  flight,  and  not  to  risk 
myself  in  any  house  in  Rome.  Upon  this  gentleman's  de- 
parture, Messer  Giovanni  looked  me  in  the  face  as  though 
he  were  about  to  cry,  and  said:  "Ah  me!  Ah  woe  is  me! 
There  is  nothing  I  can  do  to  aid  you!"  I  replied:  "By 
God's  means,  I  shall  aid  myself  alone;  only  I  request  you  to 
put  one  of  your  horses  at  my  disposition."  They  had  already 
saddled  a  black  Turkish  horse,  the  finest  and  the  best  in 
Rome.  I  mounted  with  an  arquebuse  upon  the  saddle-bow, 
wound  up  in  readiness  to  fire,  if  need  were.^  When  I  reached 
Ponte  Sisto,  I  found  the  whole  of  the  Bargello's  guard  there, 
both  horse  and  foot.  So,  making  a  virtue  of  necessity,  I  put 
my  horse  boldly  to  a  sharp  trot,  and  with  God's  grace,  being 
somehow  unperceived  by  them,  passed  freely  through.  Then, 
with  all  the  speed  I  could,  I  took  the  road  to  Palombara,  a 
fief  of  my  lord  Giovanbatista  Savello,  whence  I  sent  the  horse 
back  to  Messer  Giovanni,  without,  however,  thinking  it  well 
to  inform  him  where  I  was.^  Lord  Giovanbatista.  after  very 
kindly  entertaining  me  two  days,  advised  me  to  remove  and 
go  toward  Naples  till  the  storm  blew  over.  So,  providing  me 
with  company,  he  set  me  on  the  way  to  Naples. 

While  travelling.  I  met  a  sculptor  of  my  acquaintance, 
who  w^as  going  to  San  Germano  to  finish  the  tomb  of  Piero  de' 
Medici  at  Monte  Cassino.  His  name  was  Solosmeo,  and  he 
gave  me  the  news  that  on  the  very  evening  of  the  fray,  Pope 
Clement  sent  one  of  his  chamberlains  to  inquire  how  Tobbia 
was  getting  on.  Finding  him  at  work,  unharmed,  and  with- 
out even  knowing  anything  about  the  matter,  the  messenger 
went  back  and  told  the  Pope,  who  turned  round  to  Pompeo 

'  Ippolito  de'  Medici  was  a  Cardinal,  much  against  his  natural  inclina- 
tion. When  he  went  as  Papal  Legate  to  Hungary  in  1532,  he  assumed 
the  airs  and  style  of  a  Condottiere.  His  jealousy  of  his  cousin  Alessandro 
led  to  his  untimely  death  by  poison  in  1535. 

'  The  gun  was  an  arquebuso  a  ruota,  which  had  a  wheel  to  cock  it. 

'  A  village  in  the  Sabina,  north  of  Tivoli.  Giov.  Battista  Savelli,  of  a 
great  Roman  house,  was  a  captain  of  cavalry  irf  the  Papal  service  after 
1530.     In  1540  he  entered  the  service  of  Duke  Cosimo,  and  died  in  1553. 


126  CELLINI 

and  said:  "  You  are  a  good-for-nothing  rascal;  but  I  promise 
you  well  that  you  have  stirred  a  snake  up  which  will  sting 
you,  and  serve  you  right !  "  Then  he  addressed  himself  to 
Cardinal  de'  Medici,  and  commissioned  him  to  look  after  me, 
adding  that  he  should  be  very  sorry  to  let  me  slip  through  his 
fingers.  And  so  Solosmeo  and  I  went  on  our  way  singing 
toward  Monte  Cassino,  intending  to  pursue  our  journey 
thence  in  company  toward  Naples. 

LXVIII 

When  Solosmeo  had  inspected  his  affairs  at  Monte  Cas- 
sino, we  resumed  our  journey;  and  having  come  within  a 
mile  of  Naples,  we  were  met  by  an  innkeeper,  who  invited 
us  to  his  house,  and  said  he  had  been  at  Florence  many  years 
with  Carlo  Ginori;  ^  adding,  that  if  we  put  up  at  his  inn,  he 
would  treat  us  most  kindly,  for  the  reason  that  we  both  were 
Florentines.  We  told  him  frequently  that  we  did  not  want 
to  go  to  him.  However,  he  kept  passing,  sometimes  in  front 
and  sometimes  behind,  perpetually  repeating  that  he  would 
have  us  stop  at  his  hostelry.  When  this  began  to  bore  me, 
I  asked  if  he  could  tell  me  anything  about  a  certain  Sicilian 
woman  called  Beatrice,  who  had  a  beautiful  daughter  named 
Angelica.  Taking  it  into  his  head  that  I  was  jeering  him, 
he  cried  out:  "  God  send  mischief  to  all  women  and  such  as 
favour  them!"  Then  he  set  spurs  to  his  horse,  and  made 
off  as  though  he  was  resolved  to  leave  us.  I  felt  some  pleas- 
ure at  having  rid  myself  in  so  fair  a  manner  of  that  ass  of  an 
innkeeper;  and  yet  I  was  rather  the  loser  than  the  gainer; 
for  the  great  love  I  bore  Angelica  had  come  back  to  my  mind, 
and  while  I  was  conversing,  not  without  some  lover's  sighs, 
upon  this  subject  with  Solosmeo,  we  saw  the  man  returning 
to  us  at  a  gallop.  When  he  drew  up,  he  said:  "  Two  or  per- 
haps three  days  ago  a  woman  and  a  girl  came  back  to  a  house 
in  my  neighbourhood;  they  had  the  names  you  mentioned, 
but  whether  they  are  Sicilians  I  can  not  say."  I  answered: 
"  Such  power  over  me  has  that  name  of  Angelica,  that  I  am 
now  determined  to  put  up  at  your  inn." 

We  rode  on  all  together  with  mine  host  into  the  town  of 
Naples,  and  descended  at  his  house.  Minutes  seemed  years 
to  me  till  I  had  put  my  things  in  order,  which  I  did  in  the 

'  A  Gonfalonier  of  the  Republic  in  1527. 


MEMOIRS  127 

twinkling  of  an  eye;  then  I  went  to  the  house,  which  was  not 
far  from  our  inn,  and  found  there  my  Angehca,  who  greeted 
me  with  infinite  demonstrations  of  the  most  unbounded  pas- 
sion. But  while  drinking  deep  of  this  delight,  it  occurred  to 
my  mind  how  exactly  on  that  day  the  month  expired,  which 
had  been  prophesied  within  the  necromantic  circle  by  the 
devils.  So  then  let  every  man  who  enters  into  relation  with 
those  spirits  weigh  well  the  inestimable  perils  I  have  passed 

through ! 

LXIX 

I  happened  to  have  in  my  purse  a  diamond,  which  I 
showed  about  among  the  goldsmiths;  and  though  I  was  but 
young,  my  reputation  as  an  able  artist  was  so  well  known 
even  at  Naples  that  they  welcomed  me  most  warmly.  Among 
others,  I  made  acquaintance  with  a  most  excellent  companion, 
a  jeweller,  Messer  Domenico  Fontana  by  name.  This  worthy 
man  left  his  shop  for  the  three  days  that  I  spent  in  Naples, 
nor  ever  quitted  my  company,  but  showed  me  many  admirable 
monuments  of  antiquity  in  the  city  and  its  neighbourhood. 
Moreover,  he  took  me  to  pay  my  respects  to  the  Viceroy  of 
Naples,  who  had  let  him  know  that  he  should  like  to  see  me. 
When  I  presented  myself  to  his  Excellency,  he  received  me 
with  much  honour;  ^  and  while  we  were  exchanging  com- 
pliments, the  diamond  which  I  have  mentioned  caught  his 
eye.  He  made  me  show  it  him,  and  prayed  me,  if  I  parted 
with  it,  to  give  him  the  refusal.  Having  taken  back  the  stone, 
I  offered  it  again  to  his  Excellency,  adding  that  the  diamond 
and  I  were  at  his  service.  Then  he  said  that  the  diamond 
pleased  him  well,  but  that  he  should  be  much  better  pleased 
if  I  were  to  stay  with  him;  he  would  make  such  terms  with 
me  as  would  cause  me  to  feel  satisfied.  We  spoke  many  words 
of  courtesy  on  both  sides;  and  then  coming  to  the  merits  of 
the  diamond,  his  Excellency  bade  me  without  hesitation  name 
the  price  at  which  I  valued  it.  Accordingly  I  said  that  it  was 
worth  exactly  two  hundred  crowns.  He  rejoined  that  in  his 
opinion  I  had  not  overvalued  it;  but  that  since  I  had  set  it. 
and  he  knew  me  for  the  first  artist  in  the  world,  it  would 
not  make  the  same  effect  when  mounted  by  another  hand. 

The  Spanish  Viceroy  was  at  this  time  Pietro  Alvarez  de  Toledo. 
Marquis  of  Villafranca,  and  uncle  of  the  famous  Duke  of  Alva.  He 
governed  Naples  for  twenty  years,  from  1532  onward. 


128  CELLINI 

To  this  I  said  that  I  had  not  set  the  stone,  and  that  it  was  not 
well  set;  its  brilliancy  was  due  to  its  own  excellence;  and  that 
if  I  were  to  mount  it  afresh,  I  could  make  it  show  far  better 
than  it  did.  Then  I  put  my  thumb-nail  to  the  angles  of  its 
facets,  took  it  from  the  ring,  cleaned  it  up  a  little,  and  handed 
it  to  the  Viceroy.  Delighted  and  astonished,  he  wrote  me  out 
a  cheque  for  the  two  hundred  crowns  I  had  demanded. 

When  I  returned  to  my  lodging,  I  found  letters  from  the 
Cardinal  de'  Medici,  in  which  he  told  me  to  come  back  post- 
haste to  Rome,  and  to  dismount  without  delay  at  the  palace 
of  his  most  reverend  lordship.  I  read  the  letter  to  my  An- 
gelica, who  begged  me  with  tears  of  affection  either  to  remain 
in  Naples  or  to  take  her  with  me.  I  replied  that  if  she  was 
disposed  to  come  with  me,  I  would  give  up  to  her  keeping 
the  two  hundred  ducats  I  had  received  from  the  Viceroy.  Her 
mother  perceiving  us  in  this  close  conversation,  drew  nigh 
and  said:  "  Benvenuto,  if  you  want  to  take  my  daughter  to 
Rome,  leave  me  a  sum  of  fifteen  ducats,  and  then  I  will  travel 
after  you."  I  told  the  old  harridan  that  I  would  very  gladly 
leave  her  thirty  if  she  would  give  me  my  Angelica.  Angelica 
entreated  me  to  buy  her  a  gown  of  black  velvet,  because  the 
stufT  was  cheap  at  Naples.  I  consented  to  everything,  sent 
for  the  velvet,  settled  its  price  and  paid  for  it;  then  the  old 
woman,  who  thought  me  over  head  and  ears  in  love,  begged 
for  a  gown  of  fine  cloth  for  herself,  as  well  as  other  outlays 
for  her  sons,  and  a  good  bit  more  money  than  I  had  offered. 
I  turned  to  her  with  a  pleasant  air  and  said:  "  My  dear  Bea- 
trice, are  you  satisfied  with  what  I  offered?"  She  answered 
that  she  was  not;  thereupon  I  said  that  what  was  not  enough 
for  her  would  be  quite  enough  for  me;  and  having  kissed  An- 
gelica, we  parted,  she  with  tears,  and  I  with  laughter,  and 
off  at  once  I  set  for  Rome. 

LXX 

I  left  Naples  by  night  with  my  money  in  my  pocket,  and 
this  I  did  to  prevent  being  set  upon  or  murdered,  as  is  the 
way  there;  but  when  I  came  to  Selciata,^  I  had  to  defend 
myself  with  great  address  and  bodily  prowess  from  several 
horsemen  who  came  out  to  assassinate  me.  During  the  fol- 
lowing days,  after  leaving  Solosmeo  at  his  work  in  Monte 

'  Ponte  a  Selice,  between  Capua  and  Aversa. 


MEMOIRS  129 

Cassino,  I  came  one  morning  to  breakfast  at  the  inn  of 
Adanagni;^  and  when  I  was  near  the  house,  I  shot  some 
birds  with  my  arquebuse.  An  iron  spike,  which  was  in  the 
lock  of  my  musket,  tore  my  right  hand.  Though  the  wound 
was  not  of  any  consequence,  it  seemed  to  be  so,  because  it 
bled  abundantly.  Going  into  the  inn,  I  put  my  horse  up,  and 
ascended  to  a  large  gallery,  where  I  found  a  party  of  Nea- 
politan gentlemen  just  upon  the  point  of  sitting  down  to  table; 
they  had  with  them  a  young  woman  of  quality,  the  loveliest 
I  ever  saw.  At  the  moment  when  I  entered  the  room,  I  was 
followed  by  a  very  brave  young  serving-man  of  mine  holding 
a  big  partisan  in  his  hand.  The  sight  of  us,  our  arms,  and 
the  blood,  inspired  those  poor  gentlemen  with  such  terror, 
particularly  as  the  place  was  known  to  be  a  nest  of  murderers, 
that  they  rose  from  table  and  called  on  God  in  a  panic  to  pro- 
tect them.  I  began  to  laugh,  and  said  that  God  had  protected 
them  already,  for  that  I  was  a  man  to  defend  them  against 
whoever  tried  to  do  them  harm.  Then  I  asked  them  for  some- 
thing to  bind  up  my  wounded  hand;  and  the  charming  lady 
took  out  a  handkerchief  richly  embroidered  with  gold,  wish- 
ing to  make  a  bandage  with  it.  I  refused;  but  she  tore  the 
piece  in  half,  and  in  the  gentlest  manner  wrapt  my  hand  up 
with  her  fingers.  The  company  thus  having  regained  confi- 
dence, we  dined  together  very  gaily;  and  when  the  meal  was 
over,  we  all  mounted  and  went  off  together.  The  gentlemen, 
however,  were  not  as  yet  quite  at  their  ease;  so  they  left  me 
in  their  cunning  to  entertain  the  lady,  while  they  kept  at  a 
short  distance  behind.  I  rode  at  her  side  upon  a  pretty  little 
horse  of  mine,  making  signs  to  my  sei-vant  that  he  should 
keep  somewhat  apart,  which  gave  us  the  opportunity  of  dis- 
cussing things  that  are  not  sold  by  the  apothecary.  In  this 
way  I  journeyed  to  Rome  with  the  greatest  enjoyment  I  have 
ever  had. 

When  I  got  to  Rome,  I  dismounted  at  the  palace  of  Car- 
dinal de'  Medici,  and  having  obtained  an  audience  of  his  most 
reverend  lordship,  paid  my  respects,  and  thanked  him  warmly 
for  my  recall.  I  then  entreated  him  to  secure  me  from  im- 
prisonment, and  even  from  a  fine  if  that  were  possible.  The 
Cardinal  was  very  glad  to  see  me;  told  me  to  stand  in  no 

'  Anagni,   where   Boniface  VIII   was  outraged    to   the   death   by  the 
French  partisans  of  Philip  le  Bel. 
9 


1^0  CELLINI 

fear;  then  turned  to  one  of  his  gentlemen,  called  Messer  Pier 
Antonio  Pecci  of  Siena,  ordering  him  to  tell  the  Bargello  not 
to  touch  me.^  He  then  asked  him  how  the  man  was  going 
on  whose  head  I  had  broken  with  the  stone.  Messer  Pier 
Antonio  replied  that  he  was  very  ill,  and  that  he  would  prob- 
ably be  even  worse;  for  when  he  heard  that  I  was  coming 
back  to  Rome,  he  swore  he  would  die  to  serve  me  an  ill  turn. 
When  the  Cardinal  heard  that,  he  burst  into  a  fit  of  laughter, 
and  cried:  "  The  fellow  could  not  have  taken  a  better  way 
than  this  to  make  us  know  that  he  was  born  a  Sienese."  After 
that  he  turned  to  me  and  said:  "  For  our  reputation  and  your 
own,  refrain  these  four  or  five  days  from  going  about  in  the 
Banchi;  after  that  go  where  you  like,  and  let  fools  die  at 
their  own  pleasure." 

I  went  home  and  set  myself  to  finishing  the  medal  which 
I  had  begun,  with  the  head  of  Pope  Clement  and  a  figure 
of  Peace  on  the  reverse.  The  figure  was  a  slender  woman, 
dressed  in  very  thin  drapery,  gathered  at  the  waist,  with  a 
little  torch  in  her  hand,  which  was  burning  a  heap  of  arms 
bound  together  like  a  trophy.  In  the  background  I  had  shown 
part  of  a  temple,  where  was  Discord  chained  with  a  load  of 
fetters.  Round  about  it  ran  a  legend  in  these  words:  "  Clau- 
duntur  belli  portae."  ^ 

During  the  time  that  I  was  finishing  this  medal,  the  man 
whom  I  had  wounded  recovered,  and  the  Pope  kept  inces- 
santly asking  for  me.  I,  however,  avoided  visiting  Cardinal 
de'  Medici;  for  whenever  I  showed  my  face  before  him, 
his  lordship  gave  me  some  commission  of  importance,  which 
hindered  me  from  working  at  my  medal  to  the  end.  Conse- 
quently Messer  Pier  Carnesecchi,  who  was  a  great  favourite 
of  the  Pope's,  undertook  to  keep  me  in  sight,  and  let  me 
adroitly  understand  how  much  the  Pope  desired  my  services."' 
I  told  him  that  in  a  few  days  I  would  prove  to  his  Holiness 
that  his  service  had  never  been  neglected  by  me. 

'  This  Pecci  passed  into  the  service  of  Caterina  de'  Medici.  In  1551 
he  schemed  to  withdraw  Siena  from  the  Spanish  to  the  French  cause,  and 
was  declared  a  rebel. 

'  The  medal  was  struck  to  celebrate  the  peace  in  Christendom  between 
1530  and  1536. 

*  Piero  Carnesecchi  was  one  of  the  martyrs  of  free-thought  in  Italy. 
He  adopted  Protestant  opinions,  and  was  beheaded  and  burned  in  Rome, 
August,  1567. 


MEMOIRS 


LXXI 


131 


Not  many  days  had  passed  before,  my  medal  being  fni- 
ished,  I  stamped  it  in  gold,  silver,  and  copper.  After  I  had 
shown  it  to  Messer  Pietro,  he  immediately  introduced  me  to 
the  Pope.  It  was  on  a  day  in  April  after  dinner,  and  the 
weather  very  fine;  the  Pope  was  in  the  Belvedere.  After 
entering  the  presence,  I  put  my  medals  together  with  the  dies 
of  steel  into  his  hand.  He  took  them,  and  recognising  at  once 
their  mastery  of  art,  looked  Messer  Piero  in  the  face  and  said: 
**The  ancients  never  had  such  medals  made  for  them  as  these." 

While  he  and  the  others  were  inspecting  them,  taking  up 
now  the  dies  and  now  the  medals  in  their  hands,  I  began  to 
speak  as  submissively  as  I  was  able:  "  If  a  greater  power  had 
not  controlled  the  working  of  my  inauspicious  stars,  and 
hindered  that  with  which  they  violently  menaced  me,  your 
Holiness,  without  your  fault  or  mine,  would  have  lost  a  faith- 
ful and  loving  servant.  It  must,  most  blessed  Father,  be  al- 
lowed that  in  those  cases  where  men  are  risking  all  upon  one 
throw,  it  is  not  wrong  to  do  as  certain  poor  and  simple  men 
are  wont  to  say,  who  tell  us  we  must  mark  seven  times  and 
cut  once.  Your  Holiness  will  remember  how  the  malicious 
and  lying  tongue  of  my  bitter  enemy  so  easily  aroused  your 
anger,  that  you  ordered  the  Governor  to  have  me  taken  on 
the  spot  and  hanged;  but  I  have  no  doubt  that  when  you 
had  become  aware  of  the  irreparable  act  by  which  you  would 
have  wronged  yourself,  in  cutting  ofif  from  you  a  servant  such 
as  even  now  your  Holiness  hath  said  he  is,  I  am  sure,  I  repeat, 
that,  before  God  and  the  world,  you  would  have  felt  no  trifling 
twinges  of  remorse.  Excellent  and  virtuous  fathers,  and  mas- 
ters of  like  quality,  ought  not  to  let  their  arm  in  wrath  descend 
upon  their  sons  and  servants  with  such  inconsiderate  haste, 
seeing  that  subsequent  repentance  will  avail  them  nothing. 
But  now  that  God  has  overruled  the  malign  influences  of  the 
stars  and  saved  me  for  your  Holiness,  I  humbly  beg  you  an- 
other time  not  to  let  yourself  so  easily  be  stirred  to  rage 
ag^ainst  me." 

The  Pope  had  stopped  from  looking  at  the  medals  and 
was  now  listening  attentively  to  what  I  said.  There  were 
many  noblemen  of  the  greatest  consequence  present,  which 
made  him  blush  a  little,  as  it  were  for  shame ;  and  not  know- 


132  CELLINI 

ing  how  else  to  extricate  himself  from  this  entanglement, 
he  said  that  he  could  not  remember  having  given  such  an 
order.  I  changed  the  conversation  in  order  to  cover  his  em- 
barrassment. His  Holiness  then  began  to  speak  again  about 
the  medals,  and  asked  what  method  I  had  used  to  stamp  them 
so  marvellously,  large  as  they  were;  for  he  had  never  met  with 
ancient  pieces  of  that  size.  We  talked  a  little  on  this  subject; 
but  being  not  quite  easy  that  I  might  not  begin  another  lec- 
ture sharper  than  the  last,  he  praised  my  medals,  and  said 
they  gave  him  the  greatest  satisfaction,  but  that  he  should 
like  another  reverse  made  according  to  a  fancy  of  his  own, 
if  it  were  possible  to  stamp  them  with  two  difTerent  patterns. 
I  said  that  it  was  possible  to  do  so.  Then  his  Holiness  com- 
missioned me  to  design  the  history  of  Moses  when  he  strikes 
the  rock  and  water  issues  from  it,  with  this  motto:  "  Ut  bibat 
populus."  ^  At  last  he  added:  "  Go,  Benvenuto;  you  will  not 
have  finished  it  before  I  have  provided  for  your  fortune." 
After  I  had  taken  leave,  the  Pope  proclaimed  before  the  whole 
company  that  he  would  give  me  enough  to  live  on  wealthily 
without  the  need  of  labouring  for  any  one  but  him.  So  I  de- 
voted myself  entirely  to  working  out  this  reverse  with  the 

Moses  on  it. 

LXXII 

In  the  meantime  the  Pope  was  taken  ill,  and  his  physicians 
thought  the  case  was  dangerous.  Accordingly  my  enemy 
began  to  be  afraid  of  me,  and  engaged  some  Neapolitan  sol- 
diers to  do  to  me  what  he  was  dreading  I  might  do  to  him. 
I  had  therefore  much  trouble  to  defend  my  poor  life.  In 
course  of  time,  however,  I  completed  the  reverse;  and  when 
I  took  it  to  the  Pope,  I  found  him  in  bed  in  a  most  deplorable 
condition.  Nevertheless,  he  received  me  with  the  greatest 
kindness,  and  wished  to  inspect  the  medals  and  the  dies.  He 
sent  for  spectacles  and  lights,  but  was  unable  to  see  anything 
clearly.  Then  he  began  to  fumble  with  his  fingers  at  them, 
and  having  felt  them  a  short  while,  he  fetched  a  deep  sigh, 
and  said  to  his  attendants  that  he  was  much  concerned  about 
me,  but  that  if  God  gave  him  back  his  health  he  would  make 
it  all  right. 

Three  days  afterward  the  Pope  died,  and  I  was  left  with 
all  my  labour  lost;  yet  I  plucked  up  courage,  and  told  myself 

'  The  medal  commemorated  a  deep  well  sunk  by  Clement  at  Orvieto. 


MEMOIRS 


133 


that  these  medals  had  won  me  so  much  celebrity,  that  any 
Pope  who  was  elected  would  give  me  work  to  do,  and  per- 
adventure  bring  me  better  fortune.  Thus  I  encouraged  and 
put  heart  into  myself,  and  buried  in  oblivion  all  the  injuries 
which  Pompeo  had  done  me.  Then  putting  on  my  arms 
and  girding  my  sword,  I  went  to  San  Piero,  and  kissed  the 
feet  of  the  dead  Pope,  not  without  shedding  tears.  After- 
ward I  returned  to  the  Banchi  to  look  on  at  the  great  com- 
motion which  always  happens  on  such  occasions. 

While  I  was  sitting  in  the  street  with  several  of  my  friends, 
Pompeo  went  by,  attended  by  ten  men  very  well  armed;  and 
when  he  came  just  opposite,  he  stopped,  as  though  about  to 
pick  a  quarrel  with  myself.  My  companions,  brave  and  ad- 
venturous young  men,  made  signs  to  me  to  draw  my  s'word; 
but  it  flashed  through  my  mind  that  if  I  drew,  some  terrible 
mischief  might  result  for  persons  who  were  wholly  innocent. 
Therefore  I  considered  that  it  would  be  better  if  I  put  my  life 
to  risk  alone.  When  Pompeo  had  stood  there  time  enough 
to  say  two  Ave  Maries,  he  laughed  derisively  in  my  direction; 
and  going  oflf,  his  fellows  also  laughed  and  wagged  their 
heads,  with  many  other  insolent  gestures.  My  companions 
wanted  to  begin  the  fray  at  once;  but  I  told  them  hotly  that  I 
was  quite  able  to  conduct  my  quarrels  to  an  end  by  myself, 
and  that  I  had  no  need  of  stouter  fighters  than  I  was;  so 
that  each  of  them  might  mind  his  business.  My  friends  were 
angry  and  went  olT  muttering.  Now  there  was  among  them 
my  dearest  comrade,  named  Albertaccio  del  Bene,  own 
brother  to  Alessandro  and  Albizzo,  who  is  now  a  very  rich 
man  in  Lyons.  He  was  the  most  redoubtable  young  man  I 
ever  knew,  and  the  most  high-spirited,  and  loved  me  like 
himself;  and  insomuch  as  he  was  well  aware  that  my  for- 
bearance had  not  been  inspired  by  want  of  courage,  Init  by 
the  most  daring  bravery,  for  he  knew  me  down  to  the  bottom 
of  my  nature,  he  took  my  words  up  and  begged  me  to  favour 
him  so  far  as  to  associate  him  with  myself  in  all  I  meant  to 
do.  I  replied :  "  Dear  Albertaccio,  dearest  to  me  above  all 
men  that  live,  the  time  will  very  likely  come  when  you  shall 
give  me  aid;  but  in  this  case,  if  you  love  me,  do  not  attend 
to  me,  but  look  to  your  own  business,  and  go  at  once  like 
our  other  friends,  for  now  there  is  no  time  to  lose."  These 
words  were  spoken  in  one  breath. 


134 


CELLINI 


LXXIII 


In  the  meanwhile  my  enemies  had  proceeded  slowly  to- 
ward Chiavica,  as  the  place  was  called,  and  had  arrived  at 
the  crossing  of  several  roads,  going-  in  different  directions; 
but  the  street  in  which  Pompeo's  house  stood  was  the  one 
which  leads  straight  to  the  Campo  di  Fiore.  Some  business 
or  other  made  him  enter  the  apothecary's  shop  which  stood 
at  the  corner  of  Chiavica,  and  there  he  stayed  a  while  trans- 
acting it.  I  had  just  been  told  that  he  had  boasted  of  the 
insult  which  he  fancied  he  had  put  upon  me;  but  be  that  as  it 
may,  it  was  to  his  misfortune;  for  precisely  when  I  came  up 
to  the  corner,  he  was  leaving  the  shop,  and  his  bravi  had 
opened  their  ranks  and  received  him  in  their  midst.  I  drew 
a  little  dagger  with  a  sharpened  edge,  and  breaking  the  line 
of  his  defenders,  laid  my  hands  upon  his  breast  so  quickly 
and  coolly,  that  none  of  them  were  able  to  prevent  me.  Then 
I  aimed  to  strike  him  in  the  face;  but  fright  made  him  turn 
his  head  round;  and  I  stabbed  him  just  beneath  the  ear.  I 
only  gave  two  blows,  for  he  fell  stone  dead  at  the  second.  I 
had  not  meant  to  kill  him;  but  as  the  saying  goes,  knocks 
are  not  dealt  by  measure.  With  my  left  hand  I  plucked  back 
the  dagger,  and  with  my  right  hand  drew  my  sword  to  defend 
my  life.  However,  all  those  bravi  ran  up  to  the  corpse  and 
took  no  action  against  me;  so  I  went  back  alone  through 
Strada  Giulia,  considering  how  best  to  put  myself  in  safety. 

I  had  walked  about  three  hundred  paces,  when  Piloto  the 
goldsmith,  my  very  good  friend,  came  up  and  said :  "  Brother, 
now  that  the  mischief's  done,  we  must  see  to  saving  you." 
I  replied:  "  Let  us  go  to  Albertaccio  del  Bene's  house;  it  is 
only  a  few  minutes  since  I  told  him  I  should  soon  have  need 
of  him."  When  we  arrived  there,  Albertaccio  and  I  embraced 
with  measureless  affection;  and  soon  the  whole  flower  of 
the  young  men  of  the  Banchi,  of  all  nations  except  the  Milan- 
ese, came  crowding  in;  and  each  and  all  made  proffer  of  their 
own  life  to  save  mine.  Messer  Luigi  Rucellai  also  sent  w'ith 
marvellous  promptitude  and  courtesy  to  put  his  services  at 
my  disposal,  as  did  many  other  great  folk  of  his  station ;  for 
they  all  agreed  in  blessing  my  hands,  judging  that  Pompeo 
had  done  me  too  great  and  unforgivable  an  injury,  and  mar- 
velling that  I  had  put  up  with  him  so  long. 


MEMOIRS  135 


LXXIV 

Cardinal  Cornaro,  on  hearing  of  the  affair,  despatched 
thirty  soldiers,  with  as  many  partisans,  pikes,  and  arquebuses, 
to  bring  me  with  all  due  respect  to  his  quarters.^  This  he  did 
unasked;  whereupon  I  accepted  the  invitation,  and  went  off 
with  them,  while  more  than  as  many  of  the  young  men  bore 
me  company.  Meanwhile,  Messer  Traiano,  Pompeo's  rela- 
tive and  first  chamberlain  to  the  Pope,  sent  a  Milanese  of 
high  rank  to  Cardinal  de'  Medici,  giving  him  news  of  the 
great  crime  I  had  committed,  and  calling  on  his  most  reverend 
lordship  to  chastise  me.  The  Cardinal  retorted  on  the  spot: 
"  His  crime  would  indeed  have  been  great  if  he  had  not  com- 
mitted this  lesser  one;  thank  Messer  Traiano  from  me  for 
giving  me  this  information  of  a  fact  of  which  I  had  not  heard 
before."  Then  he  turned  and  in  presence  of  the  nobleman 
said  to  the  Bishop  of  FrulH,^  his  gentleman  and  intimate  ac- 
quaintance: "Search  diligently  after  my  friend  Benvenuto; 
I  want  to  help  and  defend  him;  and  whoso  acts  against  him 
acts  against  myself."  The  Milanese  nobleman  went  back, 
much  disconcerted,  while  the  Bishop  of  Frulli  came  to  visit 
me  at  Cardinal  Cornaro's  palace.  Presenting  himself  to  the 
Cardinal,  he  related  how  Cardinal  de'  Medici  had  sent  for 
Benvenuto,  and  wanted  to  be  his  protector.  Now  Cardinal 
Cornaro,  who  had  the  touchy  temper  of  a  bear,  flew  into  a 
rage,  and  told  the  Bishop  he  was  quite  as  well  able  to  defend 
me  as  Cardinal  de'  Medici.  The  Bishop,  in  reply,  entreated  to 
be  allowed  to  speak  with  me  on  some  matters  of  his  patron 
which  had  nothing  to  do  with  the  affair.  Cornaro  bade  him 
for  that  day  make  as  though  he  had  already  talked  with  me. 

Cardinal  de'  Medici  was  very  angry.  However,  I  went 
the  following  night,  w'ithout  Cornaro's  knowledge,  and  under 
good  escort,  to  pay  him  my  respects.  Then  I  begged  him 
to  grant  me  the  favour  of  leaving  me  where  I  was,  and  told 
him  of  the  great  courtesy  which  Cornaro  had  shown  me; 
adding  that  if  his  most  reverend  lordship  suffered  me  to  stay, 
I  should  gain  one  friend  the  more  in  my  hour  of  need;  other- 

'  This  was  Francesco,   brother  to  Cardinal   Marco  Cornaro.     He   re- 
ceived the  hat  in  152S,  while  yet  a  layman,  and  the  Bishopric  of  Brescia 

in  I53T- 

'  Forli.     The  Bishop  was  Bernardo  de'  Medici. 


136  CELLINI 

wise  his  lordship  might  dispose  of  mc  exactly  as  he  thought 
best.  He  told  me  to  do  as  I  liked;  so  I  returned  to  Cornaro's. 
palace,  and  a  few  days  afterward  the  Cardinal  Farnese  was. 
elected  Pope.* 

After  he  had  put  affairs  of  greater  consequence  in  order, 
the  new  Pope  sent  for  me,  saying  that  he  did  not  wish  any 
one  else  to  strike  his  coins.  To  these  words  of  his  Holiness 
a  gentleman  very  privately  acquainted  with  him,  named 
Messer  Latino  Juvinale,  made  answer  that  I  was  in  hiding 
for  a  murder  conmiitted  on  the  person  of  one  Pompeo  of 
Milan,  and  set  forth  what  could  be  argued  for  my  justifica- 
tion in  the  most  favourable  terms.^  The  Pope  replied:  "  I 
knew  nothing  of  Pompeo's  death,  but  plenty  of  Benvenuto's 
provocation;  so  let  a  safe-conduct  be  at  once  made  out  for 
him,  in  order  that  he  may  be  placed  in  perfect  security."  A 
great  friend  of  Pompeo's,  who  was  also  intimate  with  the 
Pope,  happened  to  be  there;  he  was  a  Milanese,  called  Messer 
Ambrogio.^  This  man  said:  "  In  the  first  days  of  your  papacy 
it  were  not  well  to  grant  pardons  of  this  kind."  The  Pope 
turned  to  him  and  answered:  "You  know  less  about  such 
matters  than  I  do.  Know  then  that  men  like  Benvenuto, 
unique  in  their  profession,  stand  above  the  law;  and  how 
far  more  he,  then,  who  received  the  provocation  I  have 
heard  of?"  When  my  safe-conduct  had  been  drawn  out,  I 
began  at  once  to  serve  him,  and  was  treated  with  the  utmost 

favour. 

LXXV 

Messer  Latino  Juvinale  came  to  call  on  me,  and  gave  me 
orders  to  strike  the  coins  of  the  Pope.  This  roused  up  all 
my  enemies,  who  began  to  look  about  how  they  should  hinder 
me;  but  the  Pope,  perceiving  their  drift,  scolded  them,  and 
insisted  that  I  should  go  on  working.  I  took  the  dies  in  hand, 
designing  a  S.  Paul,  surrounded  with  this  inscription:  "  Vas 
electionis."  This  piece  of  money  gave  far  more  satisfaction 
than  the  models  of  my  competitors;  so  that  the  Pope  forbade 
any  one  else  to  speak  to  him  of  coins,  since  he  wished  me 
only  to  have  to  do  with  them.    This  encouraged  me  to  apply 

'  Paul  III,  elected  October  13,  1534. 

"  Latino  Giovenale  de'  Manetti  was  a  Latin  poet  and  a  man  of  humane 
learning,  much  esteemed  by  his  contemporaries. 

*  Ambrogio  Recalcati.  He  was  for  many  years  the  trusted  secretary 
and  diplomatic  agent  of  Paul  III, 


MEMOIRS  137 

myself  with  untroubled  spirit  to  the  task;  and  Messer  Latino 
Juvinale,  who  had  received  such  orders  from  the  Pope,  used 
to  introduce  me  to  his  Holiness.  1  had  it  much  at  heart  to 
recover  the  post  of  stamper  to  the  Mint;  but  on  this  point  the 
Pope  took  advice,  and  then  told  me  I  must  first  obtain  pardon 
for  the  homicide,  and  this  I  should  get  at  the  holy  Maries' 
day  in  August  through  the  Caporioni  of  Rome.^  I  may  say 
that  it  is  usual  every  year  on  this  solemn  festival  to  grant  the 
freedom  of  twelve  outlaws  to  these  officers.  Meanwhile  he 
promised  to  give  me  another  safe-conduct,  which  should  keep 
me  in  security  until  that  time. 

When  my  enemies  perceived  that  they  were  quite  unable 
to  devise  the  means  of  keeping  me  out  of  the  Mint,  they  re- 
sorted to  another  expedient.  The  deceased  Pompeo  had  left 
three  thousand  ducats  as  dowry  to  an  illegitimate  daughter 
of  his;  and  they  contrived  that  a  certain  favourite  of  Signor 
Pier  Luigi,  the  Pope's  son,  should  ask  her  hand  in  marriage 
through  the  medium  of  his  master.^  Accordingly  the  match 
came  ofT;  but  this  fellow  was  an  insignificant  country  lad, 
who  had  been  brought  up  by  his  lordship;  and,  as  folk  said, 
he  got  but  little  of  the  money,  since  his  lordship  laid  his  hands 
on  it  and  had  the  mind  to  use  it.  Now  the  husband  of  the 
girl,  to  please  his  wife,  begged  the  prince  to  have  me  taken 
up;  and  he  promised  to  do  so  when  the  first  flush  of  my 
favour  with  the  Pope  had  passed  away.  Things  stood  so  about 
two  months,  the  servant  always  suing  for  his  wife's  dower, 
the  master  putting  him  of?  with  pretexts,  but  assuring  the 
woman  that  he  would  certainly  revenge  her  father's  murder. 
I  obtained  an  inkling  of  these  designs;  yet  I  did  not  omit 
to  present  myself  pretty  frequently  to  his  lordship,  who  made 
show  of  treating  me  with  great  distinction.  He  had,  how- 
ever, decided  to  do  one  or  other  of  two  things — either  to  have 
me  assassinated,  or  to  have  me  taken  up  by  the  Bargello. 
Accordingly  he  commissioned  a  certain  little  devil  of  a  Corsi- 
can  soldier  in  his  service  to  do  the  trick  as  cleverly  as  he  could ; 

'  The  Feast  of  the  Assumption.  The  Caporioni  of  Rome  were,  like 
aldermen,  wardens  of  the  districts  into  which  the  city  was  divided. 

'  Pier  Luipi  Farnese  was  successively  created  Gonfaloniere  of  the 
Church,  Duke  of  Castro,  Marquis  of  Novara,  and  finally  Duke  of  Parma 
and  Piacenza  in  1545.  He  was  murdered  at  Parma  by  his  own  courtiers 
in  1547.  He  was  of  infamous  habits,  quite  unfit  for  the  high  dignities 
conferred  on  him. 


138  CELLINI 

and  my  other  enemies,  with  Messer  Traiano  at  the  head  of 
them,  promised  the  fellow  a  reward  of  one  hundred  crowns. 
He  assured  them  that  the  job  would  be  as  easy  as  sucking  a 
fresh  egg.  Seeing  into  their  plot,  I  went  about  with  my  eyes 
open  and  with  good  attendance,  wearing  an  under-coat  and 
armlets  of  mail,  for  which  I  had  obtained  permission. 

The  Corsican,  influenced  by  avarice,  hoped  to  gain  the 
whole  sum  of  money  without  risk,  and  imagined  himself 
capable  of  carrying  the  matter  through  alone.  Consequently, 
one  day  after  dinner,  he  had  me  sent  for  in  the  name  of  Signor 
Pier  Luigi.  I  went  ofif  at  once,  because  his  lordship  had 
spoken  of  wanting  to  order  several  big  silver  vases.  Leaving 
my  home  in  a  hurry,  armed  however  as  usual,  I  walked  rapidly 
through  Strada  Giulia  toward  the  Palazzo  Farnese,  not  ex- 
pecting to  meet  anybody  at  that  hour  of  day.  I  had  reached 
the  end  of  the  street  and  was  making  toward  the  palace,  when, 
my  habit  being  always  to  turn  the  corners  wide,  I  observed 
the  Corsican  get  up  and  take  his  station  in  the  middle  of  the 
road.  Being  prepared,  I  was  not  in  the  least  disconcerted; 
but  kept  upon  my  guard,  and  slackening  pace  a  little,  drew 
nearer  toward  the  wall,  in  order  to  give  the  fellow  a  wide  berth. 
He  on  his  side  came  closer  to  the  wall,  and  when  we  were 
now  within  a  short  distance  of  each  other,  I  perceived  by  his 
gestures  that  he  had  it  in  his  mind  to  do  me  a  mischief,  and 
seeing  me  alone  thus,  thought  he  should  succeed.  Accord- 
ingly, I  began  to  speak  and  said:  "  Brave  soldier,  if  it  had 
been  night,  you  might  have  said  you  had  mistaken  me,  but 
since  it  is  full  day,  you  know  well  enough  who  I  am.  I  never 
had  anything  to  do  with  you,  and  never  injured  you,  but 
should  be  well  disposed  to  do  you  service."  He  replied  in  a 
high-spirited  way,  without,  however,  making  room  for  me  to 
pass,  that  he  did  not  know  what  I  was  saying.  Then  I  an- 
swered: "  I  know  very  well  indeed  what  you  want,  and  what 
you  are  saying;  but  the  job  which  you  have  taken  in  hand 
is  more  dangerous  and  diflficult  than  you  imagine,  and  may 
peradventure  turn  out  the  wrong  way  for  you.  Remember 
that  you  have  to  do  with  a  man  who  would  defend  himself 
against  a  hundred;  and  the  adventure  you  are  on  is  not 
esteemed  by  men  of  courage  like  yourself."  Meanwhile  I  also 
was  looking  black  as  thunder,  and  each  of  us  had  changed 
colour.    Folk,  too,  gathered  round  us,  for  it  had  become  clear 


MEMOIRS  139 

that  our  words  meant  swords  and  daggers.  He  then,  not 
having  the  spirit  to  lay  hands  on  me,  cried  out:  "We  shall 
meet  another  time."  I  answered:  "  I  am  always  glad  to  meet 
honest  men  and  those  who  show  themselves  as  such." 

When  we  parted,  I  went  to  his  lordship's  palace,  and  found 
he  had  not  sent  for  me.  When  I  returned  to  my  shop,  the 
Corsican  informed  me,  through  an  intimate  friend  of  his  and 
mine,  that  I  need  not  be  on  my  guard  against  him,  since  he 
wished  to  be  my  good  brother;  but  that  I  ought  to  be  much 
upon  my  guard  against  others,  seeing  I  was  in  the  greatest 
peril,  for  folk  of  much  consequence  had  sworn  to  have  my 
life.  I  sent  to  thank  him,  and  kept  the  best  lookout  I  could. 
Not  many  days  after,  a  friend  of  mine  informed  me  that  Signor 
Pier  Luigi  had  given  strict  orders  that  I  should  be  taken  that 
very  evening.  They  told  me  this  at  twenty;  whereupon  I 
spoke  with  some  of  my  friends,  who  advised  me  to  be  ofif  at 
once.  The  order  had  been  given  for  one  hour  after  sunset; 
accordingly  at  twenty-three  I  left  in  the  post  for  Florence. 
It  seems  that  when  the  Corsican  showed  that  he  had  not  pluck 
enough  to  do  the  business  as  he  promised,  Signor  Pier  Luigi 
on  his  own  authority  gave  orders  to  have  me  taken,  merely 
to  stop  the  mouth  of  Pompeo's  daughter,  who  was  always 
clamouring  to  know  where  her  dower  had  gone  to.  When 
he  was  unable  to  gratify  her  in  this  matter  of  revenge  on 
either  of  the  two  plans  he  had  formed,  he  bethought  him  of 
another,  which  shall  be  related  in  its  proper  place. 

LXXVI 

I  reached  Florence  in  due  course,  and  paid  my  respects 
to  the  Duke  Alessandro,  who  greeted  me  with  extraordinary 
kindness  and  pressed  me  to  remain  in  his  service.  There 
was  then  at  Florence  a  sculptor  called  II  Tribolino.  and  we 
were  gossips,  for  I  had  stood  godfather  to  his  son.^    In  course 

'  Niccolo  de'  Pericoli,  a  Florentine,  who  got  the  nickname  of  Tribolo 
in  his  boyhood,  was  a  sculptor  of  some  distinction.  He  worked  on  the 
bas-reliefs  of  San  Petronio  at  Bologna,  and  helped  Michel  Agnolo  da 
Siena  to  execute  the  tomb  of  Adrian  VI  at  Rome.  Afterward  he  was 
employed  upon  the  sculpture  of  the  Santa  Casa  at  Loreto.  He  also  made 
some  excellent  bronze-work  for  the  Medicean  villas  at  Cestello  and  Petraja. 
All  through  his  life  Tribolo  served  the  Medici,  and  during  the  siege  of 
Florence  in  1530  he  constructed  a  cork  model  of  the  town  for  Clement 
VII.     Born  1485,  died  1550. 


140 


CELLINI 


of  conversation  he  told  me  that  a  certain  Giacopo  del  Sanso- 
vino,  his  first  master,  had  sent  for  him;  and  whereas  he  had 
never  seen  Venice,  and  because  of  the  gains  he  expected,  he 
was  very  glad  to  go  there.  ^  On  his  asking  me  if  I  had  ever 
been  at  Venice,  I  said  no;  this  made  him  invite  me  to  accom- 
pany him,  and  I  agreed.  So  then  I  told  Duke  Alessandro 
that  I  wanted  first  to  go  to  Venice,  and  that  afterw^ard  I  would 
return  to  serve  him.  He  exacted  a  formal  promise  to  this 
effect,  and  bade  me  present  myself  before  I  left  the  city.  Next 
day,  having  made  my  preparations,  I  went  to  take  leave  of 
the  Duke,  whom  I  found  in  the  palace  of  the  Pazzi,  at  that 
time  inhabited  by  the  wife  and  daughters  of  Signor  Lorenzo 
Cibo.-  I  having  sent  word  to  his  Excellency  that  I  wished  to 
set  off  for  Venice  with  his  good  leave,  Signor  Cosimino  de' 
Medici,  now  Duke  of  P^lorence,  returned  with  the  answer  that 
I  must  go  to  Niccolo  da  Monte  Aguto,  who  would  give  me 
fifty  golden  crowns,  which  his  Excellency  bestowed  on  me 
in  sign  of  his  good-will,  and  afterward  I  must  return  to  serve 
him. 

I  got  the  money  from  Niccolo,  and  then  went  to  fetch 
Tribolo,  whom  I  found  ready  to  start;  and  he  asked  me 
whether  I  had  bound  my  sword.  I  answered  that  a  man 
on  horseback  about  to  take  a  journey  ought  not  to  bind  his 
sword.  He  said  that  the  custom  was  so  in  Florence,  since 
a  certain  Ser  Maurizio  then  held  office,  who  was  capable  of 
putting  S.  John  the  Baptist  to  the  rack  for  any  trifling  pecca- 
dillo.^ Accordingly  one  had  to  carry  one's  sword  bound  till 
the  gates  were  passed.  I  laughed  at  this,  and  so  we  set  off, 
joining  the  courier  to  Venice,  who  was  nicknamed  II  Lamen- 
tone.  In  his  company  we  travelled  through  Bologna,  and 
arrived  one  evening  at  Ferrara.  There  we  halted  at  the  iim 
of  the  Piazza,  while  Lamentone  went  in  search  of  some  Flor- 
entine exiles,  to  take  them  letters  and  messages  from  their 
wives.  The  Duke  had  given  orders  that  only  the  courier 
might  talk  to  them,  and  no  one  else,  under  penalty  of  incur- 

'  This  is  the  famous  Giacopo  Tatti,  who  took  his  artist's  surname  from 
his  master,  Andrea  da  Monte  a  Sansovino.  His  works  at  Florence,  Rome, 
and  Venice  are  justly  famous.     He  died  in  1570. 

'  A  brother  of  the  Cardinal,  and  himself  Marquis  of  Massa. 

*  Ser  Maurizio  was  entitled  Chancellor,  but  really  superintended  the 
criminal  magistracy  of  Florence.  Varchi  and  Segni  both  speak  of  him  as 
harsh  and  cruel  in  the  discharge  of  his  oflSce. 


MEMOIRS 


141 


ring  the  same  banishment  as  they  had.  Meanwhile,  since  it 
was  a  Httle  past  tlie  hour  of  twenty-two,  Tribolo  and  I  went 
to  see  the  Duke  of  Ferrara  come  back  from  Belfiore,  where 
he  had  been  at  a  jousting  match.  There  we  met  a  number 
of  exiles,  who  stared  at  us  as  though  they  wished  to  make  us 
speak  with  them.  Tribolo,  who  was  the  most  timorous  man 
that  I  have  ever  known,  kept  on  saying:  "  Do  not  look  at 
them  or  talk  to  them,  if  you  care  to  go  back  to  Florence." 
So  we  stayed,  and  saw  the  Duke  return;  afterward,  when  we 
regained  our  inn,  we  found  Lamentone  there.  After  night- 
fall there  appeared  Niccolo  Benintendi,  and  his  brother  Piero, 
and  another  old  man,  whom  I  believe  to  have  been  Jacopo 
Nardi,*  together  with  some  young  fellows,  who  began  im- 
mediately to  ask  the  courier  news,  each  man  of  his  own  family 
in  Florence.  Tribolo  and  I  kept  at  a  distance,  in  order  to 
avoid  speaking  with  them.  After  they  had  talked  a  while  with 
Lamentone,  Niccolo  Benintendi  *  said  :  "  I  know  those  two 
men  there  very  well;  what's  the  reason  they  give  themselves 
such  beastly  airs,  and  will  not  talk  to  us?  "  Tribolo  kept 
begging  me  to  hold  my  tongue,  while  Lamentone  told  them 
that  we  had  not  the  same  permission  as  he  had.  Benintendi 
retorted  it  was  idiotic  nonsense,  adding  "  Devil  take  them," 
and  other  pretty  fiowers  of  speech.  Then  I  raised  my  head 
as  gently  as  I  could,  and  said:  "  Dear  gentlemen,  you  are 
able  to  do  us  serious  injury,  while  we  can  not  render  you  any 
assistance;  and  though  you  have  flung  words  at  us  which  we 
are  far  from  deserving,  we  do  not  mean  on  that  account  to 
get  into  a  rage  with  you."  Thereupon  old  Nardi  said  that  I 
had  spoken  like  a  worthy  young  man  as  I  was.  But  Niccolo 
Benintendi  shouted:  "I  snap  my  fingers  at  them  and  the 
Duke."  I  replied  that  he  was  in  the  wrong  toward  us,  since 
we  had  nothing  to  do  with  him  or  his  affairs.  Old  Nardi  took 
our  part,  telling  Benintendi  plainly  that  he  was  in  the  wrong, 
which  made  him  go  on  muttering  insults.  On  this  I  bade 
him  know  that  I  could  say  and  do  things  to  him  which  he 
would  not  like,  and  therefore  he  had  better  mind  his  business, 
and  let  us  alone.     Once  more  he  cried  out  that  he  snapped 

'  Jacopo  Nardi  was  the  excellent  historian  of  Florence,  a  strong  anti- 
Medicean  partisan,  who  was  exiled  in  1530. 

*  Niccol6  Benintendi,  who  had  been  a  member  of  the  Eight  in  1529, 
was  exiled  by  the  Medici  in  1530. 


142  CELLINI 

his  fingers  at  the  Duke  and  us,  and  that  we  were  all  of  us  a 
heap  of  donkeys.  I  replied  by  giving  him  the  lie  direct  and 
drawing  my  sword.  The  old  man  wanting  to  be  first  upon 
the  staircase,  tumbled  down  some  steps,  and  all  the  rest  of 
them  came  huddling  after  him.  I  rushed  onward,  brandish- 
ing my  sword  along  the  walls  with  fury,  and  shouting:  "  I 
will  kill  you  all!  "  but  I  took  good  care  not  to  do  them  any 
harm,  as  I  might  too  easily  have  done.  In  the  midst  of  this 
tumult  the  innkeeper  screamed  out;  Lamentone  cried,  "  For 
God's  sake,  hold!  "  some  of  them  exclaimed,  "  Oh  me,  my 
head!  "  others,  "  Let  me  get  out  from  here."  In  short,  it  was 
an  indescribable  confusion;  they  looked  like  a  herd  of  swine. 
Then  the  host  came  with  a  light,  while  I  withdrew  upstairs 
and  put  my  sword  back  in  its  scabbard.  Lamentone  told 
Niccolo  Benintendi  that  he  had  behaved  very  ill.  The  host 
said  to  him:  "  It  is  as  much  as  one's  life  is  worth  to  draw 
swords  here;  and  if  the  Duke  were  to  know  of  your  brawling, 
he  would  have  you  hanged.  I  will  not  do  to  you  what  you 
deserve;  but  take  care  you  never  show  yourself  again  in  my 
inn,  or  it  will  be  the  worse  for  you."  Our  host  then  came  up 
to  me,  and  when  I  began  to  make  him  my  excuses,  he  would 
not  suffer  me  to  say  a  word,  but  told  me  that  he  knew  I  was 
entirely  in  the  right,  and  bade  me  be  upon  my  guard  against 
those  men  upon  my  journey. 

LXXVII 

After  we  had  supped,  a  barge-man  appeared,  and  oflfered 
to  take  us  to  Venice.  I  asked  if  he  would  let  us  have  the 
boat  to  ourselves;  he  was  willing,  and  so  we  made  our  bar- 
gain. In  the  morning  we  rose  early,  and  mounted  our  horses 
for  the  port,  which  is  a  few  miles  distant  from  Ferrara.  On 
arriving  there,  we  found  Niccolo  Benintendi's  brother,  with 
three  comrades,  waiting  for  me.  They  had  among  them  two 
lances,  and  I  had  bought  a  stout  pike  in  Ferrara.  Being  very 
well  armed  to  boot,  I  was  not  at  all  frightened,  as  Tribolo 
was,  who  cried:  "  God  help  us!  those  fellows  are  waiting  here 
to  murder  us."  Lamentone  turned  to  me  and  said:  "  The  best 
that  you  can  do  is  to  go  back  to  Ferrara,  for  I  see  that  the 
affair  is  likely  to  be  ugly;  for  Heaven's  sake,  Benvenuto,  do 
not  risk  the  fury  of  these  mad  beasts."  To  which  I  replied: 
"  Let  us  go  forward,  for  God  helps  those  who  have  the  right 


MEMOIRS  143 

on  their  side;  and  you  shall  see  how  I  will  help  myself.  Is 
not  this  boat  engaged  for  us?"  "Yes,"  said  Lamentone. 
"  Then  we  will  stay  in  it  without  them,  unless  my  manhood 
has  deserted  me."  I  put  spurs  to  my  horse,  and  when  I  was 
within  fifty  paces,  dismounted  and  marched  boldly  forward 
with  my  pike.  Tribolo  stopped  behind,  all  huddled  up  upon 
his  horse,  looking  the  very  image  of  frost.  Lamentone,  the 
courier,  meanwhile,  was  swelling  and  snorting  like  the  wind. 
That  was  his  usual  habit;  but  now  he  did  so  more  than  he 
was  wont,  being  in  doubt  how  this  devilish  aflfair  would 
terminate.  When  I  reached  the  boat,  the  master  presented 
himself  and  said  that  those  Florentine  gentlemen  wanted  to 
embark  in  it  with  us,  if  I  was  willing.  I  answered:  "The 
boat  is  engaged  for  us  and  no  one  else,  and  it  grieves  me  to 
the  heart  that  I  am  not  able  to  have  their  company."  At 
these  words  a  brave  young  man  of  the  Magalotti  family  spoke 
out:  "  Benvenuto,  we  will  make  you  able  to  have  it."  To 
which  I  answered:  "  If  God  and  my  good  cause,  together 
with  my  own  strength  of  body  and  mind,  possess  the  will  and 
the  power,  you  shall  not  make  me  able  to  have  what  you  say," 
So  saying,  I  leapt  into  the  boat,  and  turning  my  pike's  point 
against  them,  added:  "I'll  show  you  with  this  weapon  that 
I  am  not  able."  Wishing  to  prove  he  was  in  earnest,  Maga- 
lotti then  seized  his  own  and  came  toward  me.  I  sprang  upon 
the  gunwale  and  hit  him  such  a  blow,  that,  if  he  had  not  tum- 
bled backward,  I  must  have  pierced  his  body.  His  comrades, 
in  lieu  of  helping  him,  turned  to  fly;  and  when  I  saw  that  I 
could  kill  him,  instead  of  striking,  I  said:  "Get  up,  brother; 
take  your  arms  and  go  away.  I  have  shown  you  that  I  can 
not  do  what  I  do  not  want,  and  what  I  had  the  power  to  do 
I  have  not  chosen  to  do."  Then  I  called  for  Tribolo,  the 
boatman,  and  Lamentone  to  embark;  and  so  we  got  under 
way  for  Venice.  When  we  had  gone  ten  miles  on  the  Po, 
we  sighted  those  young  men,  who  had  got  into  a  skiff  and 
caught  us  up;  and  when  they  were  alongside,  that  idiot  Piero 
Benintendi  sang  out  to  me:  "Go  thy  ways  this  time.  Ben- 
venuto; we  shall  meet  in  Venice."  "  Set  out  betimes  then,"  I 
shouted,  "  for  I  am  coming,  and  any  man  can  meet  me  where 
he  lists."  In  due  course  we  arrived  at  Venice,  when  I  applied 
to  a  brother  of  Cardinal  Cornaro,  begging  him  to  procure  for 
me  the  favour  of  being  allowed  to  carry  arms.     He  advised 


144  CELLINI 

me  to  do  so  without  hesitation,  saying  that  the  worst  risk  I 
ran  was  that  I  might  lose  my  sword. 

LXXVIII 

Accordingly  I  girded  on  my  sword,  and  went  to  visit 
Jacopo  del  Sansovino,  the  sculptor,  who  had  sent  for  Tribolo. 
He  received  me  most  kindly,  and  invited  us  to  dinner,  and 
we  stayed  with  him.  In  course  of  conversation  with  Tribolo, 
he  told  him  that  he  had  no  work  to  give  him  at  the  moment, 
but  that  he  might  call  again.  Hearing  this,  I  burst  out  laugh- 
ing, and  said  pleasantly  to  Sansovino:  "  Your  house  is  too 
far  off  from  his,  if  he  must  call  again."  Poor  Tribolo,  all  in 
dismay,  exclaimed:  "  I  have  got  your  letter  here,  which  you 
wrote  to  bid  me  come."  Sansovino  rejoined  that  men  of  his 
sort,  men  of  worth  and  genius,  were  free  to  do  that  and  greater 
things  besides.  Tribolo  shrugged  up  his  shoulders  and  mut- 
tered: "  Patience,  patience,"  several  times.  Thereupon,  with- 
out regarding  the  copious  dinner  which  Sansovino  had  given 
me,  I  took  the  part  of  my  comrade  Tribolo,  for  he  was  in  the 
right.  All  the  while  at  table  Sansovino  had  never  stopped 
chattering  about  his  great  achievements,  abusing  Michel  Ag- 
nolo  and  the  rest  of  his  fellow-sculptors,  while  he  bragged  and 
vaunted  himself  to  the  skies.  This  had  so  annoyed  me  that 
not  a  single  mouthful  which  I  ate  had  tasted  well;  but  I  re- 
frained from  saying  more  than  these  two  words:  "  Messer 
Jacopo,  men  of  worth  act  like  men  of  worth,  and  men  of 
genius,  who  produce  things  beautiful  and  excellent,  shine  forth 
far  better  when  other  people  praise  them  than  when  they 
boast  so  confidently  of  their  own  achievements."  Upon  this 
he  and  I  rose  from  table  blowing  off  the  steam  of  our  choler. 
The  same  day,  happening  to  pass  near  the  Rialto,  I  met  Piero 
Benintendi  in  the  company  of  some  men ;  and  perceiving  that 
they  were  going  to  pick  a  quarrel  with  me,  I  turned  into  an 
apothecary's  shop  till  the  storm  blew  over.  Afterward  I 
learned  that  the  young  Magalotti,  to  whom  I  showed  that 
courtesy,  had  scolded  them  roundly;  and  thus  the  affair  ended. 

LXXIX 

A  few  days  afterward  we  set  out  on  our  return  to  Flor- 
ence.    We  lay  one  night  at  a  place  on  this  side  Chioggia,  on 


MEMOIRS 


145 


the  left  hand  as  you  go  toward  Ferrara.  Here  the  host  insisted 
upon  being  paid  before  we  went  to  bed,  and  in  his  own  way; 
and  when  I  observed  that  it  was  the  custom  everywhere  else 
to  pay  in  the  morning,  he  answered:  "  I  insist  on  being  paid 
overnight,  and  in  my  own  way."  I  retorted  that  men  who 
wanted  everything  their  own  way  ought  to  make  a  world 
after  their  own  fashion,  since  things  were  differently  man- 
aged here.  Our  host  told  me  not  to  go  on  bothering  his 
brains,  because  he  was  determined  to  do  as  he  had  said.  Tri- 
bolo  stood  trembling  with  fear,  and  nudged  me  to  keep  quiet, 
lest  they  should  do  something  worse  to  us;  so  we  paid  them 
in  the  way  they  wanted,  and  afterward  we  retired  to  rest.  We 
had,  I  must  admit,  the  most  capital  beds,  new  in  every  particu- 
lar, and  as  clean  as  they  could  be.  Nevertheless  I  did  not  get 
one  wink  of  sleep,  because  I  kept  on  thinking  how  I  could 
revenge  myself.  At  one  time  it  came  into  my  head  to  set  fire 
to  his  house;  at  another  to  cut  the  throats  of  four  fine  horses 
which  he  had  in  the  stable;  I  saw  well  enough  that  it  was 
easy  for  me  to  do  all  this;  but  I  could  not  see  how  it  was 
easy  to  secure  myself  and  my  companion.  At  last  I  resolved 
to  put  my  things  and  my  comrade's  on  board  the  boat;  and 
so  I  did.  When  the  towing-horses  had  been  harnessed  to 
the  cable,  I  ordered  the  people  not  to  stir  before  I  returned, 
for  I  had  left  a  pair  of  slippers  in  my  bedroom.  Accordingly 
I  went  back  to  the  inn  and  called  our  host,  who  told  me  he 
had  nothing  to  do  with  us,  and  that  we  might  go  to  Jericho. 
There  was  a  ragged  stable-boy  about,  half  asleep,  who  cried 
out  to  me:  "  The  master  would  not  move  to  please  the  Pope." 
Then  he  asked  me  for  a  tip,  and  I  gave  him  a  few  Venetian 
coppers,  and  told  him  to  make  the  barge-man  wait  till  I  had 
found  my  slippers  and  returned.  I  went  upstairs,  took  out 
a  little  knife  as  sharp  as  a  razor,  and  cut  the  four  beds  that 
I  found  there  into  ribbons.  I  had  the  satisfaction  of  know- 
ing I  had  done  a  damage  of  more  than  fifty  crowns.  Then 
I  ran  down  to  the  boat  with  some  pieces  of  the  bed-covers 
in  my  pouch,  and  bade  the  bargee  start  at  once  without  delay. 
We  had  not  gone  far  before  my  gossip  Tribolo  said  that  he 
had  left  behind  some  little  straps  belonging  to  his  carpet-bag. 
and  that  he  must  be  allowed  to  go  back  for  them.  I  answered 
that  he  need  not  take  thought  for  a  pair  of  little  straps,  since 

I  could  make  him  as  many  big  ones  as  he  liked.     He  told  me 
xo 


146  CELLINI 

I  was  always  joking,  but  that  he  must  really  go  back  for  his 
straps.  Then  he  began  ordering  the  bargee  to  stop,  while  I 
kept  ordering  him  to  go  on.  Meanwhile  I  informed  my  friend 
what  kind  of  trick  I  had  played  our  host,  and  showed  him 
specimens  of  the  bed-covers  and  other  things,  which  threw 
him  into  such  a  quaking  fright  that  he  roared  out  to  the 
bargee:  "  On  with  you,  on  with  you,  as  quick  as  you  can!" 
and  never  thought  himself  quite  safe  until  we  reached  the 
gates  of  Florence. 

When  we  arrived  there,  Tribolo  said:  "  Let  us  bind  our 
swords  up,  for  the  love  of  God;  and  play  me  no  more  of  your 
games,  I  beg;  for  all  this  while  I've  felt  as  though  my  guts 
were  in  the  saucepan."  I  made  answer:  "  Gossip  Tribolo, 
you  need  not  tie  your  sword  up,  for  you  have  never  loosed  it;  " 
and  this  I  said  at  random,  because  I  never  once  had  seen  him 
act  the  man  upon  that  journey.  When  he  heard  the  remark, 
he  looked  at  his  sword  and  cried  out:  "  In  God's  name,  you 
speak  true!  Here  it  is  tied,  just  as  I  arranged  it  before  I  left 
my  house."  My  gossip  deemed  that  I  had  been  a  bad  travel- 
ling companion  to  him,  because  I  resented  affronts  and  de- 
fended myself  against  folk  who  would  have  done  us  injury. 
But  I  deemed  that  he  had  acted  a  far  worse  part  with  regard 
to  me  by  never  coming  to  my  assistance  at  such  pinches.  Let 
him  judge  between  us  who  stands  by  and  has  no  personal 
interest  in  our  adventures. 

LXXX 

No  sooner  had  I  dismounted  than  I  went  to  visit  Duke 
Alessandro,  and  thanked  him  greatly  for  his  present  of  the 
fifty  crowns,  telling  his  Excellency  that  I  was  always  ready 
to  serve  him  according  to  my  abilities.  He  gave  me  orders  at 
once  to  strike  dies  for  his  coinage;  and  the  first  I  made  was  a 
piece  of  forty  soldi,  with  the  Duke's  head  on  one  side  and  San 
Cosimo  and  San  Damiano  on  the  other.^  This  was  in  silver, 
and  it  gave  so  much  satisfaction  that  the  Duke  did  not  hesitate 
to  say  they  were  the  best  pieces  of  money  in  Christendom. 
The  same  said  all  Florence  and  every  one  who  saw  them. 
Consequently  I  asked  his  Excellency  to  make  me  appoint- 
ments, and  to  grant  me  the  lodgings  of  the  Mint.     He  bade 

'  These  were  the  special  patrons  of  the  Medicean  family,  being  physi- 
cian-saints. 


MEMOIRS 


147 


me  remain  in  his  service,  and  promised  he  would  give  me 
more  than  I  demanded.  Meanwhile  he  said  he  had  com- 
missioned the  Master  of  the  Mint,  a  certain  Carlo  Acciaiuoli, 
and  that  I  might  go  to  him  for  all  the  money  that  I  wanted. 
This  I  found  to  be  true;  but  I  drew  my  monies  so  discreetly, 
that  I  had  always  something  to  my  credit,  according  to  my 
account. 

I  then  made  dies  for  a  giulio,  it  had  San  Giovanni  in  pro- 
file, seated  with  a  book  in  his  hand,  finer  in  my  judgment  than 
anything  which  I  had  done;  and  on  the  other  side  were  the 
armorial  bearings  of  Duke  Alessandro.  Next  I  made  dies 
for  half-giulios,  on  which  I  struck  the  full  face  of  San  Giovanni 
in  small.  This  was  the  first  coin  with  a  head  in  full  face  on  so 
thin  a  piece  of  silver  that  had  yet  been  seen.  The  difficulty 
of  executing  it  is  apparent  only  to  the  eyes  of  such  as  are 
past-masters  in  these  crafts.  Afterward  I  made  dies  for  the 
golden  crowns;  this  crown  had  a  cross  upon  one  side 
with  some  little  cherubim,  and  on  the  other  side  his  Excel- 
lency's arms. 

When  I  had  struck  these  four  sorts.  I  begged  the  Duke  to 
make  out  my  appointments  and  to  assign  me  the  lodgings  I 
have  mentioned,  if  he  was  contented  with  my  service.  He 
told  me  very  graciously  that  he  was  quite  satisfied,  and  that 
he  would  grant  me  my  request.  While  we  were  thus  talking, 
his  Excellency  was  in  his  wardrobe,  looking  at  a  remarkable 
little  gun  that  had  been  sent  him  out  of  Germany.  When  he 
noticed  that  I  too  paid  particular  attention  to  this  pretty 
instrument,  he  put  it  in  my  hands,  saying  that  he  knew  how 
much  pleasure  I  took  in  such  things,  and  adding  that  I  might 
choose  for  earnest  of  his  promises  an  arquebuse  to  my  own 
liking  from  the  armoury,  excepting  only  this  one  piece;  he 
was  well  aware  that  I  should  find  things  of  greater  beauty, 
and  not  less  excellent,  there.  Upon  this  invitation,  I  accepted 
with  thanks;  and  when  he  saw^  me  looking  round,  he  ordered 
his  Master  of  the  Wardrobe,  a  certain  Pretino  of  Lucca,  to 
let  me  take  whatever  I  liked.  Then  he  went  away  with  the 
most  pleasant  words  at  parting,  while  I  remained,  and  chose 
the  finest  and  best  arquebuse  I  ever  saw,  or  ever  had,  and 
took  it  back  with  me  to  home. 

Two  days  afterward  I  brought  some  drawings  which  his 
Excellency  had  commissioned  for  gold-work  he  wanted  to 


148 


CELLINI 


give  his  wife,  who  was  at  that  time  still  in  Naples.^  I  again 
asked  him  to  settle  my  affairs.  Then  his  Excellency  told  me 
that  he  should  like  me  first  to  execute  the  die  of  his  portrait 
in  fine  style,  as  I  had  done  for  Pope  Clement.  I  began  it  in 
wax;  and  the  Duke  gave  orders,  while  I  was  at  work  upon  it, 
that  whenever  I  went  to  take  his  portrait,  I  should  be  ad- 
mitted. Perceiving  that  I  had  a  lengthy  piece  of  business 
on  my  hands,  I  sent  for  a  certain  Pietro  Pagolo  from  Monte 
Ritondo,  in  the  Roman  district,  who  had  been  with  me  from 
his  boyhood  in  Rome.-  I  found  him  with  one  Bernardonaccio, 
a  goldsmith,  who  did  not  treat  him  well;  so  I  brought  him 
away  from  there,  and  taught  him  minutely  how  to  strike  coins 
from  those  dies.  Meanwhile,  I  went  on  making  the  Duke's 
portrait;  and  oftentimes  I  found  him  napping  after  dinner 
with  that  Lorenzino  of  his,  who  afterward  murdered  him, 
and  no  other  company;  and  much  I  marvelled  that  a  Duke 
of  that  sort  showed  such  confidence  about  his  safety.^ 

LXXXI 

It  happened  at  this  time  that  Ottaviano  de'  Medici,*  who 
to  all  appearances  had  got  the  government  of  everything  in 
his  own  hands,  favoured  the  old  Master  of  the  Mint  against 
the  Duke's  will.  This  man  was  called  Bastiano  Cennini,  an 
artist  of  the  antiquated  school,  and  of  little  skill  in  his  craft. 
Ottaviano  mixed  his  stupid  dies  with  mine  in  the  coinage  of 
crown-pieces.  I  complained  of  this  to  the  Duke,  who,  when 
he  saw  how  the  matter  stood,  took  it  very  ill,  and  said  to  me: 
"  Go,  tell  this  to  Ottaviano  de'  Medici,  and  show  him  how  it 
is."  I  lost  no  time;  and  when  I  had  pointed  out  the  injury 
that  had  been  done  to  my  fine  coins,  he  answered,  like  the 
donkey  that  he  was:  "We  choose  to  have  it  so."  I  replied 
that  it  ought  not  to  be  so,  and  that  I  did  not  choose  to  have 

'  Margaret  of  Austria,  natural  daughter  to  Charles  V,  was  eventually 
married  in  1536  to  Alessandro  de'  Medici. 

'  Pietro  Pagolo  Galleotti,  much  praised  by  Vasari  for  his  artistic  skill. 

'  This  is  the  famous  Tuscan  Brutus  who  murdered  Alessandro.  He 
was  descended  from  Lorenzo  de'  Medici,  the  brother  of  Cosimo,  Pater 
Patriae,  and  the  uncle  of  Lorenzo  the  Magnificent. 

*  This  Ottaviano  was  not  descended  from  either  Cosimo  or  Lorenzo 
de'  Medici,  but  from  an  elder,  though  less  illustrious,  branch  of  the  great 
family.  He  married  Francesca  Salviati,  the  aunt  of  Duke  Cosimo.  Though 
a  great  patron  of  the  arts  and  an  intimate  friend  of  M.  A.  Buonarroti,  he 
was  not  popular,  owing  to  his  pride  of  place. 


MEMOIRS 


149 


it  so.  He  said:  "And  if  the  Duke  likes  to  have  it  so?"  I 
answered:  "  It  would  not  suit  me,  for  the  thing  is  neither 
just  nor  reasonable."  He  told  me  to  take  myself  off,  and 
that  I  should  have  to  swallow  it  in  this  way,  even  if  I  burst. 
Then  I  returned  to  the  Duke,  and  related  the  whole  unpleas- 
ant conversation  between  Ottaviano  de'  Medici  and  me,  en- 
treating his  Excellency  not  to  allow  the  fine  coins  which  I 
had  made  for  him  to  be  spoiled,  and  begging  for  permission 
to  leave  Florence.  He  replied:  "  Ottaviano  is  too  presum- 
ing: you  shall  have  what  you  want;  for  this  is  an  injury 
offered  to  myself." 

That  very  day,  which  was  a  Thursday,  I  received  from 
Rome  a  full  safe-conduct  from  the  Pope,  with  advice  to  go 
there  at  once  and  get  the  pardon  of  Our  Lady's  feast  in  mid- 
August,  in  order  that  I  might  clear  myself  from  the  penalties 
attaching  to  my  homicide.  I  went  to  the  Duke,  whom  I  found 
in  bed,  for  they  told  me  he  was  suffering  the  consequence  of 
a  debauch.  In  little  more  than  two  hours  I  finished  what  was 
wanted  for  his  waxen  medal;  and  when  I  showed  it  him,  it 
pleased  him  extremely.  Then  I  exhibited  the  safe-conduct 
sent  me  at  the  order  of  the  Pope,  and  told  him  how  his  Ploli- 
ness  had  recalled  me  to  execute  certain  pieces  of  work;  on 
this  account  I  should  like  to  regain  my  footing  in  the  fair  city 
of  Rome,  which  would  not  prevent  my  attending  to  his  medal. 
The  Duke  made  answer  half  in  anger:  "  Benvenuto,  do  as  I 
desire:  stay  here;  I  will  provide  for  your  appointments,  and 
will  give  you  the  lodgings  in  the  Mint,  with  much  more  than 
you  could  ask  for,  because  your  requests  are  only  just  and 
reasonable.  And  who  do  you  think  will  be  able  to  strike  the 
beautiful  dies  which  you  have  made  for  me?"  Then  I  said: 
"  My  lord,  I  have  thought  of  everything,  for  I  have  here  a 
pupil  of  mine,  a  young  Roman  whom  I  have  taught  the  art; 
he  will  serve  your  Excellency  very  well  till  I  return  with  your 
medal  finished,  to  remain  for  ever  in  your  service.  I  have  in 
Rome  a  shop  open,  with  journeymen  and  a  pretty  business; 
as  soon  as  I  have  got  my  pardon,  T  will  leave  all  the  devotion 
of  Rome  to  a  pupil  of  mine  there,  and  will  come  back,  with 
your  Excellency's  good  permission,  to  you."  During  this 
conversation,  the  Lorenzino  de'  Medici  whom  I  have  above 
mentioned  was  present,  and  no  one  else.  The  Duke  fre- 
quently signed  to  him  that  he  should  join  in  pressing  me  to 


I50 


CELLINI 


stay;  but  Lorenzino  never  said  anything  except:  "  Ben- 
venuto,  you  would  do  better  to  remain  where  you  are."  I 
answered  that  I  wanted  by  all  means  to  regain  my  hold  on 
Rome.  He  made  no  reply,  but  continued  eyeing  the  Duke 
with  very  evil  glances.  When  I  had  finished  the  medal  to 
my  liking,  and  shut  it  in  its  little  box,  I  said  to  the  Duke: 
"  My  lord,  pray  let  me  have  your  good-will,  for  I  will  make 
you  a  much  finer  medal  than  the  one  I  made  for  Pope  Clement. 
It  is  only  reasonable  that  I  should,  since  that  was  the  first  I 
ever  made.  Messer  Lorenzo  here  will  give  me  some  exquisite 
reverse,  as  he  is  a  person  learned  and  of  the  greatest  genius." 
To  these  words  Lorenzo  suddenly  made  answer:  "  I  have 
been  thinking  of  nothing  else  but  how  to  give  you  a  reverse 
worthy  of  his  Excellency."  The  Duke  laughed  a  little,  and 
looking  at  Lorenzo,  said:  "  Lorenzo,  you  shall  give  him  the 
reverse,  and  he  shall  do  it  here  and  shall  not  go  away." 
Lorenzo  took  him  up  at  once,  saying:  "  I  will  do  it  as  quickly 
as  I  can,  and  I  hope  to  do  something  that  shall  make  the  whole 
world  wonder."  The  Duke,  who  held  him  sometimes  for  a 
fool  and  sometimes  for  a  coward,  turned  about  in  bed,  and 
laughed  at  his  bragging  words.  I  took  my  leave  without 
further  ceremony,  and  left  them  alone  together.  The  Duke, 
who  did  not  believe  that  I  was  really  going,  said  nothing 
further.  Afterward,  when  he  knew  that  I  was  gone,  he  sent 
one  of  his  servants,  who  caught  me  up  at  Siena,  and  gave  me 
fifty  golden  ducats  with  a  message  from  the  Duke  that  I 
should  take  and  use  them  for  his  sake,  and  should  return  as 
soon  as  possible;  "and  from  Messer  Lorenzo  I  have  to  tell 
you  that  he  is  preparing  an  admirable  reverse  for  that  medal 
which  you  want  to  make."  I  had  left  full  directions  to  Petro 
Pagolo,  the  Roman  above  mentioned,  how  he  had  to  use  the 
dies;  but  as  it  was  a  very  delicate  afTair,  he  never  quite  suc- 
ceeded in  employing  them.  I  remained  creditor  to  the  Mint 
in  a  matter  of  more  than  seventy  crowns  on  account  of  dies 

supplied  by  me. 

LXXXir 

On  the  journey  to  Rome  I  carried  with  me  that  hand- 
some arquebuse  which  the  Duke  gave  me;  and  very  much  to 
my  own  pleasure,  I  used  it  several  times  by  the  way,  per- 
forming incredible  feats  by  means  of  it.  The  little  house  I 
had  in  Strada  Giulia  was  not  ready;  so  I  dismounted  at  the 


MEMOIRS  151 

house  of  Messer  Giovanni  Gaddi,  clerk  of  the  Camera,  to 
whose  keeping  1  had  committed,  on  leaving  Rome,  many  of 
my  arms  and  other  things  I  cared  for.  So  I  did  not  choose 
to  alight  at  my  shop,  but  sent  for  Felice,  my  partner,  and 
got  him  to  put  my  little  dwelling  forthwith  into  excellent 
order.  The  day  following,  I  went  to  sleep  there,  after  well 
providing  myself  with  clothes  and  all  things  requisite,  since 
I  intended  to  go  and  thank  the  Pope  next  morning. 

I  had  two  young  serving-lads,  and  beneath  my  lodgings 
lived  a  laundress  who  cooked  extremely  nicely  for  me.  That 
evening  I  entertained  several  friends  at  supper,  and  having 
passed  the  time  with  great  enjoyment,  betook  myself  to  bed. 
The  night  had  hardly  ended,  indeed  it  was  more  than  an  hour 
before  daybreak,  when  I  heard  a  furious  knocking  at  the 
house-door,  stroke  succeeding  stroke  without  a  moment's 
pause.  Accordingly  I  called  my  elder  servant,  Cencio  (he 
was  the  man  I  took  into  the  necromantic  circle),  and  bade 
him  go  and  see  who  the  madman  was  that  knocked  so  brutally 
at  that  hour  of  the  night.  While  Cencio  was  on  this  errand, 
I  lighted  another  lamp,  for  I  always  keep  one  by  me  at  night; 
then  I  made  haste  to  pass  an  excellent  coat  of  mail  over  my 
shirt,  and  above  that  some  clothes  w^hich  I  caught  up  at  ran- 
dom. Cencio  returned,  exclaiming:  "  Heavens,  master!  it  is 
the  Bargello  and  all  his  guard;  and  he  says  that  if  you  do 
not  open  at  once,  he  will  knock  the  door  down.  They  have 
torches,  and  a  thousand  things  besides  with  them!"  I  an- 
swered: "Tell  them  that  I  am  huddling  my  clothes  on,  and 
will  come  out  to  them  in  my  shirt."  Supposing  it  was  a  trap 
laid  to  murder  me,  as  had  before  been  done  by  Signor  Pier 
Luigi,  I  seized  an  excellent  dagger  with  my  right  hand,  and 
with  the  left  I  took  the  safe-conduct;  then  I  ran  to  the  back- 
window,  which  looked  out  on  gardens,  and  there  I  saw  more 
than  thirty  constables;  wherefore  I  knew  that  I  could  not 
escape  upon  that  side.  I  made  the  two  lads  go  in  front,  and 
told  them  to  open  the  door  exactly  when  I  gave  the  word  to 
do  so.  Then  taking  up  an  attitude  of  defence,  with  the  dagger 
in  my  right  hand  and  the  safe-conduct  in  my  left,  I  cried  to 
the  lads:  "  Have  no  fear,  but  open!  "  The  Bargello,  Vittorio, 
and  the  officers  sprang  inside  at  once,  thinking  they  could 
easily  lay  hands  upon  me;  but  when  they  saw  me  prepared 
in  that  way  to  receive  them,  they  fell  back,  exclaiming:  "We 


152 


CELLINI 


have  a  serious  job  on  hand  here !  "  Then  I  threw  the  safe- 
conduct  to  them,  and  said:  "  Read  that!  and  since  you  can 
not  seize  me,  I  do  not  mean  that  you  shall  touch  me."  The 
Bargello  upon  this  ordered  some  of  his  men  to  arrest  me, 
saying  he  would  look  to  the  safe-conduct  later.  Thereat  I 
presented  my  arms  boldly,  calling  aloud:  "Let  God  defend 
the  right!  Either  I  shall  escape  your  hands  alive,  or  be  taken 
a  dead  corpse !  "  The  room  was  crammed  with  men ;  they 
made  as  though  they  would  resort  to  violence;  I  stood  upon 
my  guard  against  them;  so  that  the  Bargello  saw  he  would 
not  be  able  to  have  me  except  in  the  way  I  said.  Accord- 
ingly he  called  his  clerk,  and  while  the  safe-conduct  was  being 
read,  he  showed  by  signs  two  or  three  times  that  he  meant 
to  have  me  secured  by  his  officers;  but  this  had  no  effect  of 
shaking  my  determination.  At  last  they  gave  up  the  attempt, 
threw  my  safe-conduct  on  the  ground,  and  went  away  with- 
out their  prize. 

LXXXIII 

When  I  returned  to  bed,  I  felt  so  agitated  that  I  could 
not  get  to  sleep  again.  My  mind  was  made  up  to  let  blood 
as  soon  as  day  broke.  However,  I  asked  advice  of  Messer 
Gaddi,  and  he  referred  to  a  wretched  doctor-fellow  he  em- 
ployed, who  asked  me  if  I  had  been  frightened.  Now,  just 
consider  what  a  judicious  doctor  this  was,  after  I  had  nar- 
rated an  occurrence  of  that  gravity,  to  ask  me  such  a  ques- 
tion! He  was  an  empty  fribbler,  who  kept  perpetually  laugh- 
ing about  nothing  at  all.  Simpering  and  sniggering,  then, 
he  bade  me  drink  a  good  cup  of  Greek  wine,  keep  my  spirits 
up,  and  not  be  frightened.  Messer  Giovanni,  however,  said: 
"  Master,  a  man  of  bronze  or  marble  might  be  frightened  in 
such  circumstances.  How  much  more  one  of  flesh  and 
blood!  "  The  quack  responded:  "  Monsignor,  we  are  not  all 
made  after  the  same  pattern;  this  fellow  is  no  man  of  bronze 
or  marble,  but  of  pure  iron."  Then  he  gave  one  of  his  mean- 
ingless laughs,  and  putting  his  fingers  on  my  wrist,  said: 
"  Feel  here;  this  is  not  a  man's  pulse,  but  a  lion's  or  a  drag- 
on's." At  this,  I,  whose  blood  was  thumping  in  my  veins, 
probably  far  beyond  anything  which  that  fool  of  a  doctor  had 
learned  from  his  Hippocrates  or  Galen,  knew  at  once  how 
serious  was  my  situation;  yet,  wishing  not  to  add  to  my  un- 
easiness and  to  the  harm  I  had  already  taken,  I  made  show 


MEMOIRS 


153 


of  being  in  good  spirits.  While  this  was  happening,  Messer 
Giovanni  had  ordered  dinner,  and  we  all  of  us  sat  down  to  eat 
in  company.  I  remembered  that  Messer  Lodovico  da  Fano, 
Messer  Antonio  Allegretti,  Messer  Giovanni  Greco,  all  of 
them  men  of  the  finest  scholarship,  and  Messer  Annibal  Caro, 
who  was  then  quite  young,  were  present.  At  table  the  con- 
versation turned  entirely  upon  my  act  of  daring.  They  in- 
sisted on  hearing  the  whole  story  over  and  over  again  from 
my  apprentice  Cencio,  who  was  a  youth  of  superlative  talent, 
bravery,  and  extreme  personal  beauty.  Each  time  that  he 
described  my  truculent  behaviour,  throwing  himself  into  the 
attitudes  I  had  assumed,  and  repeating  the  words  which  I 
had  used,  he  called  up  some  fresh  detail  to  my  memory.  They 
kept  asking  him  if  he  had  been  afraid;  to  which  he  answered 
that  they  ought  to  ask  me  if  I  had  been  afraid,  because  he  felt 
precisely  the  same  as  I  had. 

All  this  chattering  grew  irksome  to  me;  and  since  I  still 
felt  strongly  agitated,  I  rose  at  last  from  table,  saying  that 
I  wanted  to  go  and  get  new  clothes  of  blue  silk  and  stuff  for 
him  and  me;  adding  that  I  meant  to  walk  in  procession  after 
four  days  at  the  feast  of  Our  Lady,  and  meant  Cencio  to 
carry  a  white  lighted  torch  on  the  occasion.  Accordingly 
I  took  my  leave,  and  had  the  blue  cloth  cut,  together  with  a 
handsome  jacket  of  blue  sarcenet  and  a  little  doublet  of  the 
same;  and  I  had  a  similar  jacket  and  waistcoat  made  for 
Cencio. 

When  these  things  had  been  cut  out,  I  went  to  see  the 
Pope,  who  told  me  to  speak  with  Messer  Ambruogio;  for 
he  had  given  orders  that  I  should  execute  a  large  piece  of 
golden  plate.  So  I  went  to  find  Messer  Ambruogio,  who 
had  heard  the  whole  of  the  affair  of  the  Bargello,  and  had 
been  in  concert  with  my  enemies  to  bring  me  back  to  Rome, 
and  had  scolded  the  Bargello  for  not  laying  hands  on  me. 
The  man  excused  himself  by  saying  that  he  could  not  do 
so  in  the  face  of  the  safe-conduct  which  I  held.  Messer  Am- 
bruogio now  began  to  talk  about  the  Pope's  commission, 
and  bade  me  make  draw^ings  for  it,  saying  that  the  business 
should  be  put  at  once  in  train.  Meanwhile  the  feast  of  Our 
Lady  came  round.  Now  it  is  the  custom  for  those  who  get 
a  pardon  upon  this  occasion  to  give  themselves  up  to  prison; 
in  order  to  avoid  doing  which  I  returned  to  the  Pope,  and 


154 


CELLINI 


told  his  Holiness  that  I  was  very  unwilling  to  go  to  prison, 
and  that  I  begged  him  to  grant  me  the  favour  of  a  dispensa- 
tion. The  Pope  answered  that  such  was  the  custom,  and  that 
I  must  follow  it.  Thereupon  I  fell  again  upon  my  knees,  and 
thanked  him  for  the  safe-conduct  he  had  given  me,  saying  at 
the  same  time  that  I  should  go  back  with  it  to  serve  my  Duke 
in  Florence,  who  was  waiting  for  me  so  impatiently.  On 
hearing  this,  the  Pope  turned  to  one  of  his  confidential  serv- 
ants and  said:  "  Let  Benvenuto  get  his  grace  without  the 
prison,  and  see  that  his  moto  proprio  is  made  out  in  due 
form."  As  soon  as  the  document  had  been  drawn  up,  his 
Holiness  signed  it;  it  was  then  registered  at  the  Capitol; 
afterward,  upon  the  day  appointed,  I  walked  in  procession 
very  honourably  between  two  gentlemen,  and  so  got  clear 

at  last. 

LXXXIV 

Four  days  had  passed  when  I  was  attacked  with  violent 
fever  attended  by  extreme  cold;  and  taking  to  my  bed,  I 
made  my  mind  up  that  I  was  sure  to  die.  I  had  the  first 
doctors  of  Rome  called  in,  among  whom  was  Francesco  da 
Norcia,  a  physician  of  great  age,  and  of  the  best  repute  in 
Rome.^  I  told  them  what  I  believed  to  be  the  cause  of  my 
illness,  and  said  that  I  had  wished  to  let  blood,  but  that  I  had 
been  advised  against  it;  and  if  it  was  not  too  late,  I  begged 
them  to  bleed  me  now.  Maestro  Francesco  answered  that 
it  would  not  be  well  for  me  to  let  blood  then,  but  that  if  I  had 
done  so  before,  I  should  have  escaped  without  mischief;  at 
present  they  would  have  to  treat  the  case  with  other  remedies. 
So  they  began  to  doctor  me  as  energetically  as  they  were  able, 
while  I  grew  daily  worse  and  worse  so  rapidly,  that  after  eight 
days  the  physicians  despaired  of  my  life,  and  said  that  I  might 
be  indulged  in  any  whim  I  had  to  make  me  comfortable. 
Maestro  Francesco  added:  "As  long  as  there  is  breath  in 
him,  call  me  at  all  hours;  for  no  one  can  divine  what  Nature 
is  able  to  work  in  a  young  man  of  this  kind;  moreover,  if  he 
should  lose  consciousness,  administer  these  five  remedies  one 
after  the  other,  and  send  for  me,  for  I  will  come  at  any  hour 
of  the  night;  I  would  rather  save  him  than  any  of  the  cardi- 
nals in  Rome." 

'  Francesco  Fusconi,  physician  to  Popes  Adrian  VI,  Clement  VII,  and 
Paul  III. 


MEMOIRS 


155 


Every  day  Messcr  Giovanni  Gaddi  came  to  see  me  two  or 
three  times,  and  each  time  he  tooiv  up  one  or  other  of  my 
handsome  fowling-pieces,  coats  of  mail,  or  swords,  using 
words  like  these:  "That  is  a  handsome  thing,  that  other  is 
still  handsomer;  "  and  likewise  with  my  models  and  other 
trifles,  so  that  at  last  he  drove  me  wild  with  annoyance.  In 
his  company  came  a  certain  Mattio  Franzesi;  ^  and  this  man 
also  appeared  to  be  waiting  impatiently  for  my  death,  not  in- 
deed because  he  would  inherit  anything  from  me,  but  because 
he  wished  for  what  his  master  seemed  to  have  so  much  at 
heart. 

Felice,  my  partner,  was  always  at  my  side,  rendering  the 
greatest  services  which  it  is  possible  for  one  man  to  give 
another.  Nature  in  me  was  utterly  debilitated  and  undone; 
I  had  not  strength  enough  to  fetch  my  breath  back  if  it  left 
me;  and  yet  my  brain  remained  as  clear  and  strong  as  it 
had  been  before  my  illness.  Nevertheless,  although  I  kept 
my  consciousness,  a  terrible  old  man  used  to  come  to  my  bed- 
side, and  make  as  though  he  would  drag  me  by  force  into  a 
huge  boat  he  had  with  him.  This  made  me  call  out  to  my 
Felice  to  draw  near  and  chase  that  malignant  old  man  aw-ay. 
Felice,  who  loved  me  most  affectionately,  ran  weeping  and 
crying:  "Away  with  you,  old  traitor;  you  are  robbing  me 
of  all  the  good  I  have  in  this  world."  Messer  Giovanni  Gaddi, 
who  was  present,  then  began  to  say:  "  The  poor  fellow  is  de- 
lirious, and  has  only  a  few  hours  to  live."  His  fellow,  Mattio 
Franzesi,  remarked:  "  He  has  read  Dante,  and  in  the  prostra- 
tion of  his  sickness  this  apparition  has  appeared  to  him;" 
then  he  added  laughingly:  "Away  with  you,  old  rascal,  and 
don't  bother  our  friend  Benvenuto."  When  I  saw  that  they 
were  making  fun  of  me,  I  turned  to  Messer  Gaddi  and  said: 
"  My  dear  master,  know  that  I  am  not  raving,  and  that  it  is 
true  that  this  old  man  is  really  giving  me  annoyance;  but  the 
best  that  you  can  do  for  me  would  be  to  drive  that  miser- 
able Mattio  from  my  side,  who  is  laughing  at  my  affliction; 
afterw'ard  if  your  lordship  deigns  to  visit  me  again,  let  me 
beg  you  to  come  with  Messer  Antonio  Allegretti,  or  with 
Messer  Annibal  Caro,  or  with  some  other  of  your  accom- 
plished friends,  who  are  persons  of  quite  different  intelligence 

'  Franzesi  was  a  clever  Italian  poet.    His  burlesque  Capitoli  are  printed 
with  those  of  Berni  and  others. 


156  CELLINI 

and  discretion  from  that  beast."  Thereupon  Messer  Gio- 
vanni told  Mattio  in  jest  to  take  himself  out  of  his  sight  for 
ever;  but  because  Mattio  went  on  laughing,  the  joke  turned 
to  earnest,  for  Messer  Giovanni  would  not  look  upon  him 
again,  but  sent  for  Messer  Antonio  Allegretti,  Messer  Ludo- 
vico,  and  Messer  Annibal  Caro.  On  the  arrival  of  these 
worthy  men,  I  was  greatly  comforted,  and  talked  reasonably 
with  them  awhile,  not  however  without  frequently  urging 
Felice  to  drive  the  old  man  away.  Messer  Ludovico  asked 
me  what  it  was  I  seemed  to  see,  and  how  the  man  was  shaped. 
While  I  portrayed  him  accurately  in  words,  the  old  man  took 
me  by  the  arm  and  dragged  me  violently  toward  him.  This 
made  me  cry  out  for  aid,  because  he  was  going  to  fling  me 
under  hatches  in  his  hideous  boat.  On  saying  that  last  word, 
I  fell  into  a  terrible  swoon,  and  seemed  to  be  sinking  down 
into  the  boat.  They  say  that  during  that  fainting-fit  I  flung 
myself  about  and  cast  bad  words  at  Messer  Giovanni  Gaddi, 
to  wit,  that  he  came  to  rob  me,  and  not  from  any  motive  of 
charity,  and  other  insults  of  the  kind,  which  caused  him  to 
be  much  ashamed.  Later  on,  they  say  I  lay  still  like  one  dead; 
and  after  waiting  by  me  more  than  an  hour,  thinking  I  was 
growing  cold,  they  left  me  for  dead.  When  they  returned 
home,  Mattio  Franzesi  was  informed,  who  wrote  to  Florence 
to  Messer  Benedetto  Varchi,  my  very  dear  friend,  that  they 
had  seen  me  die  at  such  and  such  an  hour  of  the  night.  When 
he  heard  the  news,  that  most  accomplished  man  and  my  dear 
friend  composed  an  admirable  sonnet  upon  my  supposed  but 
not  real  death,  which  shall  be  reported  in  its  proper  place. 

More  than  three  long  hours  passed,  and  yet  I  did  not 
regain  consciousness.  Felice  having  used  all  the  remedies 
prescribed  by  Maestro  Francesco,  and  seeing  that  I  did  not 
come  to,  ran  post-haste  to  the  physician's  door,  and  knocked 
so  loudly  that  he  woke  him  up,  and  made  him  rise,  and  begged 
him  with  tears  to  come  to  the  house,  for  he  thought  that  I 
was  dead.  Whereto  Maestro  Francesco,  who  was  a  very 
choleric  man,  replied:  "  My  son,  of  what  use  do  you  think 
I  should  be  if  I  came?  If  he  is  dead,  I  am  more  sorry  than 
you  are.  Do  you  imagine  that  if  I  were  to  come  with  my 
medicine  I  could  blow  breath  through  his  guts  and  bring  him 
back  to  life  for  you?"  But  when  he  saw  that  the  poor  young 
fellow  was   going  away   weeping,   he   called   him  back   and 


MEMOIRS 


157 


gave  him  an  oil  with  which  to  anoint  my  pulses  and  my  heart, 
telling  him  to  pinch  my  little  fingers  and  toes  very  tightly,  -4 
and  to  send  at  once  to  call  him  if  I  should  revive.  Felice  took 
his  way,  and  did  as  Maestro  Francesco  had  ordered.  It  was 
almost  bright  day  when,  thinking  they  would  have  to  aban- 
don hope,  they  gave  orders  to  have  my  shroud  made  and  to 
wash  me.  Suddenly  I  regained  consciousness,  and  called 
out  to  Felice  to  drive  away  the  old  man  on  the  moment,  who 
kept  tormenting  me.  He  wanted  to  send  for  Maestro  Fran- 
cesco, but  I  told  him  not  to  do  so,  but  to  come  close  up  to 
me,  because  that  old  man  was  afraid  of  him  and  went  away  at 
once.  So  Felice  drew  near  to  the  bed;  I  touched  him,  and 
it  seemed  to  me  that  the  infuriated  old  man  withdrew;  so  I 
prayed  him  not  to  leave  me  for  a  second. 

When  Maestro  Francesco  appeared,  he  said  it  w^as  his 
dearest  wish  to  save  my  life,  and  that  he  had  never  in  all  his 
days  seen  greater  force  in  a  young  man  than  I  had.  Then 
he  sat  down  to  write,  and  prescribed  for  me  perfumes,  lotions,/ 
unctions,  plasters,  and  a  heap  of  other  precious  things.  Mean- 
while I  came  to  life  again  by  the  means  of  more  than  twenty 
leeches,  but  with  my  body  bored  through,  bound,  and  ground 
to  powder.  Many  of  my  friends  crow'ded  in  to  behold  the 
miracle  of  the  resuscitated  dead  man,  and  among  them  people 
of  the  first  importance. 

In  their  presence  I  declared  that  the  small  amount  of  gold 
and  money  I  possessed,  perhaps  some  eight  hundred  crowns, 
what  with  gold,  silver,  jewels,  and  cash,  should  be  given  by 
my  will  to  my  poor  sister  in  Florence,  called  Mona  Liperata; 
all  the  remainder  of  my  property,  armour  and  everything 
besides,  I  left  to  my  dearest  Felice,  together  with  fifty  golden 
ducats,  in  order  that  he  might  buy  mourning.  At  those  words 
Felice  flung  his  arms  around  my  neck,  protesting  that  he 
wanted  nothing  but  to  have  me  as  he  wished  alive  with  him. 
Then  I  said:  "If  you  want  me  alive,  touch  me  as  you  did 
before,  and  threaten  the  old  man,  for  he  is  afraid  of  you."  At 
these  words  some  of  the  folk  were  terrified,  knowing  that  I 
was  not  raving,  but  talking  to  the  purpose  and  with  all  my 
wits.  Thus  my  wretched  malady  went  dragging  on,  and  I 
got  but  little  better.  Maestro  Francesco,  that  most  excellent 
man,  came  four  or  five  times  a  day;  Messer  Giovanni  Gaddi, 
who  felt  ashamed,  did  not  visit  me  again.    My  brother-in-law. 


158  CELLINI 

the  husband  of  my  sister,  arrived;  he  came  from  Florence 
for  the  inlicritance;  but  as  he  was  a  very  worthy  man,  he 
rejoiced  exceedingly  to  have  found  me  alive.  The  sight  of 
him  did  me  a  world  of  good,  and  he  began  to  caress  me  at 
once,  saying  he  had  only  come  to  take  care  of  me  in  person; 
and  this  he  did  for  several  days.  Afterward  I  sent  him  away, 
having  almost  certain  hope  of  my  recovery.  On  this  occasion 
he  left  the  sonnet  of  Messer  Benedetto  Varchi,  which  runs 
as  follows: 

"Who  shall,  Mattio,  yield  our  pain  relief? 
Who  shall  forbid  the  sad  expense  of  tears  ? 
Alas  !  'tis  true  that  in  his  youthful  years 
Our  friend  hath  flown,  and  left  us  here  to  grief. 

"  He  hath  gone  up  to  heaven,  who  was  the  chief 
Of  men  renowned  in  art's  immortal  spheres  ; 
Among  the  mighty  dead  he  had  no  peers, 
Nor  shall  earth  see  his  like,  in  my  belief. 

"O  gentle  sprite  !  if  love  still  sway  the  blest. 

Look  down  on  him  thou  here  didst  love,  and  view 
These  tears  that  mourn  my  loss,  not  thy  great  good. 

"  There  dost  thou  gaze  on  His  beatitude 

Who  made  our  universe,  and  findest  true 

The  form  of  Him  thy  skill  for  men  expressed." 

LXXXV 

My  sickness  had  been  of  such  a  very  serious  nature  that 
it  seemed  impossible  for  me  to  fling  it  off.  That  worthy  man 
Maestro  Francesco  da  Norcia  redoubled  his  efforts,  and 
brought  me  every  day  fresh  remedies,  trying  to  restore 
strength  to  my  miserable  unstrung  frame.  Yet  all  these  en- 
deavours were  apparently  insufficient  to  overcome  the  ob- 
stinacy of  my  malady,  so  that  the  physicians  were  in  despair 
and  at  their  wits'  ends  what  to  do.  I  was  tormented  by  thirst, 
but  had  abstained  from  drinking  for  many  days  according  to 
the  doctors'  orders.  Felice,  who  thought  he  had  done  won- 
ders in  restoring  me,  never  left  my  side.  That  old  man  ceased 
to  give  so  much  annoyance,  yet  sometimes  he  appeared  to 
me  in  dreams. 

One  day  Felice  had  gone  out  of  doors,  leaving  me  under 
the  care  of  a  young  apprentice  and  a  servant-maid  called 
Beatrice.  T  asked  the  apprentice  what  had  become  of  my 
lad  Cencio,  and  what  was  the  reason  why  I  had  never  seen 


MEMOIRS  159 

him  in  attendance  on  me.  The  hoy  repHed  that  Cencio  had 
been  far  more  ill  than  I  was,  and  that  he  was  even  at  death's 
door.  Felice  had  given  them  orders  not  to  speak  to  me  of 
this.  On  hearing  the  news,  I  was  exceedingly  distressed; 
then  I  called  the  maid  Beatrice,  a  Pistojan  girl,  and  asked 
her  to  bring  me  a  great  crystal  water-cooler  which  stood  near, 
full  of  clear  and  fresh  water.  She  ran  at  once,  and  brought 
it  to  me  full;  I  told  her  to  put  it  to  my  lips,  adding  that  if 
she  let  me  take  a  draught  according  to  my  heart's  content, 
I  would  give  her  a  new  gown.  This  maid  had  stolen  from 
me  certain  little  things  of  some  importance,  and  in  her  fear 
of  being  detected,  she  would  have  been  very  glad  if  I  had 
died.  Accordingly  she  allowed  me  twice  to  take  as  much 
as  I  could  of  the  water,  so  that  in  good  earnest  I  swallowed 
more  than  a  flask  full.  I  then  covered  myself,  and  began  to 
sweat,  and  fell  into  a  deep  sleep.  After  I  had  slept  about  an 
hour,  Felice  came  home  and  asked  the  boy  how  I  was  get- 
ting on.  He  answered:  "  I  do  not  know.  Beatrice  brought 
him  that  cooler  full  of  water,  and  he  has  drunk  almost  the 
whole  of  it.  I  don't  know  now  whether  he  is  alive  or  dead." 
They  say  that  my  poor  friend  was  on  the  point  of  falling 
to  the  ground,  so  grieved  was  he  to  hear  this.  Afterward 
he  took  an  ugly  stick  and  began  to  beat  the  serving-girl  with 
all  his  might,  shouting  out:  "Ah!  traitress,  you  have  killed 
him  for  me  then?"  While  Felice  was  cudgelling  and  she 
screaming,  I  was  in  a  dream;  I  thought  the  old  man  held 
ropes  in  his  hand,  and  while  he  was  preparing  to  bind  me, 
Felice  had  arrived  and  struck  him  with  an  axe,  so  that  the 
old  man  fled  exclaiming:  "  Let  me  go,  and  I  promise  not  to 
return  for  a  long  while."  Beatrice  in  the  meantime  had  run 
into  my  bedroom  shrieking  loudly.  This  woke  me  up,  and 
I  called  out:  "  Leave  her  alone;  perhaps,  when  she  meant 
to  do  me  harm,  she  did  me  more  good  than  you  were  able 
to  do  with  all  your  efforts.  She  may  indeed  have  saved  my 
life;  so  lend  me  a  helping  hand,  for  I  have  sweated;  and  be 
quick  about  it."  Felice  recovered  his  spirits,  dried  and  made 
me  comfortable;  and  I,  being  conscious  of  a  great  improve- 
ment in  my  state,  began  to  reckon  on  recovery. 

When  Maestro  Francesco  appeared  and  saw  my  great  im- 
provement, and  the  servant-girl  in  tears,  and  the  prentice  run- 
ning to  and   fro,   and   Felice   laughing,   all   this   disturbance 


i6o  CELLINI 

made  him  think  that  something  extraordinary  must  have 
happened,  which  had  been  the  cause  of  my  amendment.  Just 
then  the  other  doctor,  Bernardino,  put  in  his  appearance, 
who  at  the  beginning  of  my  illness  had  refused  to  bleed  me. 
Maestro  Francesco,  that  most  able  man,  exclaimed:  "Oh, 
power  of  Nature!  She  knows  what  she  requires,  and  the 
physicians  know  nothing."  That  simpleton.  Maestro  Ber- 
nardino, made  answer,  saying:  "  If  he  had  drunk  another 
bottle  he  would  have  been  cured  upon  the  spot."  Maestro 
Francesco  da  Norcia,  a  man  of  age  and  great  authority,  said: 
"  That  would  have  been  a  terrible  misfortune,  and  would  to 
God  that  it  may  fall  on  you !  "  Afterward  he  turned  to  me 
and  asked  if  I  could  have  drunk  more  water.  I  answered: 
"  No,  because  I  had  entirely  quenched  my  thirst."  Then 
he  turned  to  Maestro  Bernardino,  and  said:  "  Look  you  how 
Nature  has  taken  precisely  what  she  wanted,  neither  more 
nor  less.  In  like  manner  she  was  asking  for  what  she  wanted 
when  the  poor  young  man  begged  you  to  bleed  him.  If  you 
knew  that  his  recovery  depended  upon  his  drinking  two  flasks 
of  water,  why  did  you  not  say  so  before?  You  might  then 
have  boasted  of  his  cure."  At  these  words  the  wretched 
quack  sulkily  departed,  and  never  showed  his  face  again. 

Maestro  Francesco  then  gave  orders  that  I  should  be 
removed  from  my  room  and  carried  to  one  of  the  hills  there 
are  in  Rome.  Cardinal  Cornaro,  when  he  heard  of  my  im- 
provement, had  me  transported  to  a  place  of  his  on  Monte 
Cavallo.  That  very  evening  I  was  taken  with  great  precau- 
tions in  a  chair,  well  wrapped  up  and  protected  from  the 
cold.  No  sooner  had  I  reached  the  place  than  I  began  to 
vomit,  during  which  there  came  from  my  stomach  a  hairy 
worm  about  a  quarter  of  a  cubit  in  length:  the  hairs  were 
long,  and  the  worm  was  very  ugly,  speckled  of  divers  colours, 
green,  black,  and  red.  They  kept  and  showed  it  to  the  doctor, 
who  said  he  had  never  seen  anything  of  the  sort  before,  and 
afterward  remarked  to  Felice:  "  Now  take  care  of  your  Ben- 
venuto,  for  he  is  cured.  Do  not  permit  him  any  irregularities; 
for  though  he  has  escaped  this  time,  another  disorder  now 
would  be  the  death  of  him.  You  see  his  malady  has  been 
so  grave,  that  if  we  had  brought  him  the  extreme  unction, 
we  might  not  have  been  in  time.  Now  I  know  that  with  a 
little  patience  and  time  he  will  live  to  execute  more  of  his  fine 


MEMOIRS  l6i 

works,"  Then  he  turned  to  me  and  said:  "  My  Benvenuto, 
be  prudent,  commit  no  excesses,  and  when  you  are  quite 
recovered,  I  beg  you  to  make  me  a  Madonna  with  your  own 
hand,  and  I  will  always  pay  my  devotions  to  it  for  your  sake." 
This  I  promised  to  do,  and  then  asked  him  whether  it  would 
be  safe  for  me  to  travel  so  far  as  to  Florence.  He  advised 
me  to  wait  till  I  was  stronger,  and  till  we  could  observe  how 
Nature  worked  in  me. 

LXXXVI 

When  eight  days  had  come  and  gone,  my  amendment 
was  so  slight  that  life  itself  became  almost  a  burden  to  me; 
indeed  I  had  been  more  than  fifty  days  in  that  great  suffering. 
So  I  made  my  mind  up,  and  prepared  to  travel.  My  dear 
Felice  and  I  went  toward  Florence  in  a  pair  of  baskets;  and 
as  I  had  not  written,  when  I  reached  my  sister's  house,  she 
wept  and  laughed  over  me  all  in  one  breath.  That  day  many 
of  my  friends  came  to  see  me;  among  others  Pier  Landi, 
who  was  the  best  and  dearest  friend  I  ever  had.  Next  day 
there  came  a  certain  Niccolo  da  Monte  Aguto,  who  was  also 
a  very  great  friend  of  mine.  Now  he  had  heard  the  Duke 
say:  "  Benvenuto  would  have  done  much  better  to  die,  be- 
cause he  is  come  to  put  his  head  into  a  noose,  and  I  will  never 
pardon  him."  Accordingly  when  Niccolo  arrived,  he  said 
to  me  in  desperation:  "  Alas!  my  dear  Benvenuto,  what  have 
you  come  to  do  here?  Did  you  not  know  what  you  have  done 
to  displease  the  Duke?  I  have  heard  him  swear  that  you 
were  thrusting  your  head  into  a  halter."  Then  I  replied: 
"  Niccolo,  remind  his  Excellency  that  Pope  Clement  wanted 
to  do  as  much  to  me  before,  and  quite  as  unjustly;  tell  him 
to  keep  his  eye  on  me,  and  give  me  time  to  recover;  then  T 
will  show  his  Excellency  that  I  have  been  the  most  faithful 
servant  he  will  ever  have  in  all  his  life;  and  forasmuch  as 
some  enemy  must  have  served  me  this  bad  turn  through 
envy,  let  him  wait  till  I  get  well;  for  I  shall  then  be  able  to 
give  such  an  account  of  myself  as  will  make  him  marvel." 

This  bad  turn  had  been  done  me  by  Giorgetto  Vassellario 
of  Arezzo,^  the  painter;  perchance  in  recompense  for  many 
benefits  conferred  on  him.     I  had  harboured  him  in  Rome 

'  This  is  the  famous  Giorgio  Vasari,  a  bad  painter  and  worse  archi- 
tect, but  dear  to  all  lovers  of  the  arts  for  his  anecdotic  work  upon  Italian 
artists. 

II 


l62  CELLINI 

and  provided  for  his  costs,  while  he  had  turned  my  whole 
house  upside  down;  for  the  man  was  subject  to  a  species 
of  dry  scab,  which  he  was  always  in  the  habit  of  scratching 
with  his  hands.  It  happened,  then,  that  sleeping  in  the  same 
bed  as  an  excellent  workman,  named  Manno,  who  was  in  my 
service,  when  he  meant  to  scratch  himself,  he  tore  the  skin 
from  one  of  Manno's  legs  with  his  filthy  claws,  the  nails  of 
which  he  never  used  to  cut.  The  said  Manno  left  my  service, 
and  was  resolutely  bent  on  killing  him.  I  made  the  quarrel 
up,  and  afterward  got  Giorgio  into  Cardinal  de'  Medici's 
household,  and  continually  helped  him.  For  these  deserts, 
then,  he  told  Duke  Alessandro  that  I  had  abused  his  Excel- 
lency, and  had  bragged  I  meant  to  be  the  first  to  leap  upon 
the  walls  of  Florence  with  his  foes  the  exiles.  These  words, 
as  I  afterward  learned,  had  been  put  into  Vasari's  lips  by  that 
excellent  fellow  Ottaviano  de'  Medici,  who  wanted  to  revenge 
himself  for  the  Duke's  irritation  against  him,  on  account  of 
the  coinage  and  my  departure  from  Florence.  I,  being  inno- 
cent of  the  crime  falsely  ascribed  to  me,  felt  no  fear  whatever. 
Meanwhile  that  able  physician  Francesco  da  Monte  Varchi 
attended  to  my  cure  with  great  skill.  He  had  been  brought 
by  my  very  dear  friend  Luca  Martini,  who  passed  the  larger 
portion  of  the  day  with  me.^ 

LXXXVII 

During  this  while  I  had  sent  my  devoted  comrade  Felice 
back  to  Rome,  to  look  after  our  business  there.  When  I 
could  raise  my  head  a  little  from  the  bolster,  which  was  at 
the  end  of  fifteen  days,  although  I  was  unable  to  walk  upon 
my  feet,  I  had  myself  carried  to  the  palace  of  the  Medici,  and 
placed  upon  the  little  upper  terrace.  There  they  seated  me 
to  wait  until  the  Duke  went  by.  Many  of  my  friends  at  court 
came  up  to  greet  mc,  and  expressed  surprise  that  I  had  under- 
gone the  inconvenience  of  being  carried  in  that  way,  while  so 
shattered  by  illness;  they  said  that  I  ought  to  have  waited 
till  I  was  well,  and  then  to  have  visited  the  Duke.  A  crowd 
of  them  collected,  all  looking  at  me  as  a  sort  of  miracle;  not 
merely  because  they  had  heard  that  I  was  dead,  but  far  more 
because  I  had  the  look  of  a  dead  man.    Then  publicly,  before 

'  Luca  Martini  was  a  member  of  the  best  literary  society  in  his  days, 
and  the  author  of  some  famous  burlesque  pieces. 


MEMOIRS  163 

them  all,  I  said  how  some  wicked  scoundrel  had  told  my  lord 
the  Duke  that  I  had  bragged  I  meant  to  be  the  first  to  scale 
his  Excellency's  walls,  and  also  that  I  had  abused  him  per- 
sonally; wherefore  I  had  not  the  heart  to  live  or  die  till  I 
had  purged  myself  of  that  infamy,  and  found  out  who  the 
audacious  rascal  was  who  had  uttered  such  calumnies  against 
me.  At  these  words  a  large  number  of  those  gentlemen  came 
round,  expressing  great  compassion  for  me;  one  said  one 
thing,  one  another,  and  I  told  them  I  would  never  go  thence 
before  I  knew  who  had  accused  me.  At  these  words  Maestro 
Agostino,  the  Duke's  tailor,  made  his  way  through  all  those 
gentlemen,  and  said:  "  If  that  is  all  you  want  to  know,  you 
shall  know  it  at  this  very  moment." 

Giorgio  the  painter,  whom  I  have  mentioned,  happened 
just  then  to  pass,  and  Maestro  Agostino  exclaimed:  "There 
is  the  man  who  accused  you;  now  you  know  yourself  if  it 
be  true  or  not."  As  fiercely  as  I  could,  not  being  able  to 
leave  my  seat,  I  asked  Giorgio  if  it  was  true  that  he  had  ac- 
cused me.  He  denied  that  it  was  so,  and  that  he  had  ever 
said  anything  of  the  sort.  Maestro  Agostino  retorted:  "  You 
gallows-bird!  don't  you  know  that  I  know  it  for  most  cer- 
tain?" Giorgio  made  off  as  quickly  as  he  could,  repeating 
that  he  had  not  accused  me.  Then,  after  a  short  while,  the 
Duke  came  by;  whereupon  I  had  myself  raised  up  before  his 
Excellency,  and  he  halted.  I  told  him  that  I  had  come  there 
in  that  way  solely  in  order  to  clear  my  character.  The  Duke 
gazed  at  me,  and  marvelled  I  was  still  alive;  afterward  he 
bade  me  take  heed  to  be  an  honest  man  and  regain  my  health. 

When  I  reached  home,  Niccolo  da  Monte  Aguto  came  to 
visit  me.  and  told  me  that  I  had  escaped  one  of  the  most 
dreadful  perils  in  the  world,  quite  contrary  to  all  his  expecta- 
tions, for  he  had  seen  my  ruin  written  with  indelible  ink;  now 
I  must  make  haste  to  get  well,  and  afterward  take  French 
leave,  because  my  jeopardy  came  from  a  quarter  and  a  man 
who  was  able  to  destroy  me.  He  then  said,  "  Beware,"  and 
added:  "What  displeasure  have  you  given  to  that  rascal 
Ottaviano  de'  Medici?"  I  answered  that  I  had  done  nothing 
to  displease  him,  but  that  he  had  injured  me;  and  told  him 
all  the  affair  about  the  Mint.  He  repeated:  "  Get  hence  as 
quickly  as  you  can,  and  be  of  good  courage,  for  you  will  see 
your  vengeance  executed  sooner  than  you  expect."     I  paid 


164  CELLINI 

the  best  attention  to  my  health,  gave  Pietro  Pagolo  advice 
about  stamping  the  coins,  and  then  went  off  upon  my  way  to 
Rome  without  saying  a  word  to  the  Duke  or  anybody  else. 

LXXXVIII 

When  I  reached  Rome,  and  had  enjoyed  the  company 
of  my  friends  awhile,  I  began  the  Duke's  medal.  In  a  few 
days  I  finished  the  head  in  steel,  and  it  was  the  finest  work 
of  the  kind  which  I  had  ever  produced.  At  least  once  every 
day  there  came  to  visit  me  a  sort  of  blockhead  named  Messer 
Francesco  Soderini.^  When  he  saw  what  I  was  doing,  he 
used  frequently  to  exclaim:  "  Barbarous  wretch!  you  want 
then  to  immortalize  that  ferocious  tyrant!  You  have  never 
made  anything  so  exquisite,  which  proves  you  our  inveterate 
foe  and  their  devoted  friend;  and  yet  the  Pope  and  he  have 
had  it  twice  in  mind  to  hang  you  without  any  fault  of  yours. 
That  was  the  Father  and  the  Son;  now  beware  of  the  Holy 
Ghost."  It  was  firmly  believed  that  Duke  Alessandro  was  the 
son  of  Pope  Clement.  Messer  Francesco  used  also  to  say 
and  swear  by  all  his  saints  that,  if  he  could,  he  would  have 
robbed  me  of  the  dies  for  that  medal.  I  responded  that  he 
had  done  well  to  tell  me  so,  and  that  I  would  take  such  care 
of  them  that  he  should  never  see  them  more. 

I  now  sent  to  Florence  to  request  Lorenzino  that  he  would 
send  me  the  reverse  of  the  medal.  Niccolo  da  Monte  Aguto, 
to  whom  I  had  written,  wrote  back,  saying  that  he  had  spoken 
to  that  mad  melancholy  philosopher  Lorenzino  for  it;  he  had 
replied  that  he  was  thinking  night  and  day  of  nothing  else, 
and  that  he  would  finish  it  as  soon  as  he  was  able.  Never- 
theless, I  was  not  to  set  my  hopes  upon  his  reverse,  but  I 
had  better  invent  one  out  of  my  own  head,  and  when  I  had 
finished  it,  I  might  bring  it  without  hesitation  to  the  Duke, 
for  this  would  be  to  my  advantage. 

I  composed  the  design  of  a  reverse  which  seemed  to  me 
appropriate,  and  pressed  the  work  forward  to  my  best  ability. 
Not  being,  however,  yet  recovered  from  that  terrible  illness, 
I  gave  myself  frequent  relaxation  by  going  out  on  fowling 
expeditions  with  my  friend  Felice.  This  man  had  no  skill 
in  my  art;  but  since  we  were  perpetually  day  and  night 
together,  everybody  thought  he  was  a  first-rate  craftsman. 
'  He  had  been  banished  in  1530  as  a  foe  to  the  Medicean  house. 


MEMOIRS 


165 


This  being  so,  as  he  was  a  fellow  of  much  humour,  we  used 
often  to  laugh  together  about  the  great  credit  he  had  gained. 
His  name  was  Felice  Guadagni  (Gain),  which  made  him  say 
in  jest:  "  I  should  be  called  Felice  Gain-little  if  you  had  not 
enabled  me  to  acquire  such  credit  that  I  can  call  myself  Gain- 
much."  I  replied  that  there  are  two  ways  of  gaining:  the  first 
is  that  by  which  one  gains  for  one's  self,  the  second  that  by 
which  one  gains  for  others;  so  I  praised  him  much  more  for 
the  second  than  the  first,  since  he  had  gained  for  me  my  life. 

We  often  held  such  conversations;  but  I  remember  one  in 
particular  on  the  day  of  Epiphany,  when  we  were  together 
near  La  Magliana.  It  was  close  upon  nightfall,  and  during 
the  day  I  had  shot  a  good  number  of  ducks  and  geese;  then, 
as  I  had  almost  made  my  mind  up  to  shoot  no  more  that 
time,  we  were  returning  briskly  toward  Rome.  Calling  to 
my  dog  by  his  name,  Barucco,  and  not  seeing  him  in  front 
of  me,  I  turned  round  and  noticed  that  the  well-trained  ani- 
mal was  pointing  at  some  geese  which  had  settled  in  a  ditch. 
I  therefore  dismounted  at  once,  got  my  fowling-piece  ready, 
and  at  a  very  long  range  brought  two  of  them  down  with  a 
single  ball.  I  never  used  to  shoot  with  more  than  one  ball, 
and  was  usually  able  to  hit  my  mark  at  two  hundred  cubits, 
which  can  not  be  done  by  other  ways  of  loading.  Of  the  two 
geese,  one  was  almost  dead,  and  the  other,  though  badly 
wounded,  was  flying  lamely.  My  dog  retrieved  the  one  and 
brought  it  to  me;  but  noticing  that  the  other  was  diving 
down  into  the  ditch,  I  sprang  forward  to  catch  it.  Trusting 
to  my  boots,  which  came  high  up  the  leg,  I  put  one  foot  for- 
ward; it  sank  in  the  oozy  ground;  and  so,  although  I  got  the 
goose,  the  boot  of  my  right  leg  was  full  of  water.  I  lifted 
my  foot  and  let  the  water  run  out;  then,  when  I  had  mounted, 
we  made  haste  for  Rome.  The  cold,  however,  was  very  great, 
and  I  felt  my  leg  freeze,  so  that  I  said  to  FeHce:  "We  must 
do  something  to  help  this  leg,  for  I  don't  know  how  to  bear 
it  longer."  The  good  Felice,  without  a  word,  leapt  from  his 
horse,  and  gathering  some  thistles  and  bits  of  stick,  began  to 
build  a  fire.  I  meanwhile  was  waiting,  and  put  my  hands 
among  the  breast-feathers  of  the  geese,  and  felt  them  very 
warm.  So  I  told  him  not  to  make  the  fire,  but  filled  my  boot 
with  the  feathers  of  the  goose,  and  was  immediately  so  much 
comforted  that  I  regained  vitality. 


l66  CELLINI 

LXXXIX 

We  mounted,  and  rode  rapidly  toward  Rome;  and  when 
we  had  reached  a  certain  gently  rising  ground — night  had 
already  fallen — looking  in  the  direction  of  Florence,  both 
with  one  breath  exclaimed  in  the  utmost  astonishment:  "  O 
God  of  heaven!  what  is  that  great  thing  one  sees  there  over 
Florence? "  It  resembled  a  huge  beam  of  fire,  which  sparkled 
and  gave  out  extraordinary  lustre. 

I  said  to  Felice:  "  Assuredly  we  shall  hear  to-morrow  that 
something  of  vast  importance  has  happened  in  Florence." 
As  we  rode  into  Rome,  the  darkness  was  extreme;  and  when 
we  came  near  the  Banchi  and  our  own  house,  my  little  horse 
was  going  in  an  amble  at  a  furious  speed.  Now  that  day  they 
had  thrown  a  heap  of  plaster  and  broken  tiles  in  the  middle 
of  the  road,  which  neither  my  horse  nor  myself  perceived. 
In  his  fiery  pace  the  beast  ran  up  it;  but  on  coming  down 
upon  the  other  side  he  turned  a  complete  somersault.  He 
had  his  head  between  his  legs,  and  it  was  only  through  the 
power  of  God  himself  that  I  escaped  unhurt.  The  noise  we 
made  brought  the  neighbours  out  with  lights;  but  I  had 
already  jumped  to  my  feet;  and  so,  without  remounting,  I 
ran  home,  laughing  to  have  come  unhurt  out  of  an  accident 
enough  to  break  my  neck. 

On  entering  the  house,  I  found  some  friends  of  mine  there, 
to  whom,  while  we  were  supping  together,  I  related  the  ad- 
ventures of  the  day's  chase  and  the  diabolical  apparition 
of  the  fiery  beam  which  we  had  seen.  They  exclaimed: 
"  What  shall  we  hear  to-morrow  which  this  portent  has  an- 
nounced?" I  answered:  "Some  revolution  must  certainly 
have  occurred  in  Florence."  So  we  supped  agreeably;  and 
late  the  next  day  there  came  the  news  to  Rome  of  Duke 
Alessandro's  death.  ^  Upon  this  many  of  my  acquaintances 
came  to  me  and  said:  "  You  were  right  in  conjecturing  that 
something  of  great  importance  had  happened  at  Florence." 
Just  then  Francesco  Sodcrini  appeared  jogging  along  upon 
a  wretched  mule  he  had,  and  laughing  all  the  way  like  a  mad- 
man. He  said  to  me:  "  This  is  the  reverse  of  that  vile  tyrant's 
medal    which    your    Lorenzino    de'    Medici    promised    you." 

'  Alessandro  was  murdered  by  his  cousin  Lorenzino  at  Florence  on 
the  5th  of  January,  1537. 


MEMOIRS  167 

Then  he  added :  "  You  wanted  to  immortaHze  the  dukes  for 
us;  but  we  mean  to  have  no  more  dukes:"  and  thereupon 
he  jeered  me,  as  though  I  had  been  the  captain  of  the  fac- 
tions which  make  dukes.  Meanwhile  a  certain  Baccio  Bet- 
tini/  who  had  an  ugly  big  head  like  a  bushel,  came  up  and 
began  to  banter  me  in  the  same  way  about  dukes,  calling 
out:  "We  have  dis-duked  them,  and  won't  have  any  more 
of  them;  and  you  were  for  making  them  immortal  for  us!" 
with  many  other  tiresome  quips  of  the  same  kind.  I  lost  my 
patience  at  this  nonsense,  and  said  to  them:  "  You  block- 
heads! I  am  a  poor  goldsmith,  who  serve  whoever  pays  me; 
and  you  are  jeering  me  as  though  I  were  a  party-leader. 
However,  this  shall  not  make  me  cast  in  your  teeth  the  in- 
satiable greediness,  idiocy,  and  good-for-nothingness  of  your 
predecessors.  But  this  one  answer  I  will  make  to  all  your 
silly  railleries;  that  before  two  or  three  days  at  the  longest 
have  passed  by,  you  will  have  another  duke,  much  worse 
perhaps  than  he  who  now  has  left  you." 

The  following  day  Bettini  came  to  my  shop  and  said: 
"  There  is  no  need  to  spend  money  in  couriers,  for  you  know 
things  before  they  happen.  What  spirit  tells  them  to  you?" 
Then  he  informed  me  that  Cosimo  de'  Medici,  the  son  of 
Signor  Giovanni,  was  made  Duke;  but  that  certain  condi- 
tions had  been  imposed  at  his  election,  which  would  hold 
him  back  from  kicking  up  his  heels  at  his  own  pleasure.  I 
now  had  my  opportunity  for  laughing  at  them,  and  saying: 
"  Those  men  of  Florence  have  set  a  young  man  upon  a  mettle- 
some horse;  next  they  have  buckled  spurs  upon  his  heels, 
and  put  the  bridle  freely  in  his  hands,  and  turned  him  out 
upon  a  magnificent  field,  full  of  flowers  and  fruits  and  all 
delightful  things;  next  they  have  bidden  him  not  to  cross 
certain  indicated  limits:  now  tell  me,  you,  who  there  is  that 
can  hold  him  back,  whenever  he  has  but  the  mind  to  cross 
them?  Laws  can  not  be  imposed  on  him  who  is  the  master 
of  the  law."  So  they  left  me  alone,  and  gave  me  no  further 
annoyance.^ 

'  Bettini  was  an  intimate  friend  of  Buonarroti  and  a  considerable  patron 
of  the  arts. 

'  Cellini  only  spoke  the  truth  on  this  occasion  ;  for  Cosimo  soon  kicked 
down  the  ladder  which  had  lifted  him  to  sovereignty,  and  showed  himself 
the  absolute  master  of  Florence.  Cosimo  was  elected  Duke  upon  the  gth 
of  January,  1537. 


l68  CELLINI 

XC 

I  now  began  to  attend  to  my  shop,  and  did  some  busi- 
ness, not  however  of  much  moment,  because  I  had  still  to 
think  about  my  health,  which  was  not  yet  established  after 
that  grave  illness  I  had  undergone.  About  this  time  the 
Emperor  returned  victorious  from  his  expedition  against 
Tunis,  and  the  Pope  sent  for  me  to  take  my  advice  concern- 
ing the  present  of  honour  it  was  fit  to  give  him.^  I  answered 
that  it  seemed  to  me  most  appropriate  to  present  his  Im- 
perial Majesty  with  a  golden  crucifix,  for  which  I  had  almost 
finished  an  ornament  quite  to  the  purpose,  and  which  would 
confer  the  highest  honour  upon  his  Holiness  and  me.  I 
had  already  made  three  little  figures  of  gold  in  the  round, 
about  a  palm  high;  they  were  those  which  I  had  begun  for 
the  chalice  of  Pope  Clement,  representing  Faith,  Hope,  and 
Charity.  To  these  I  added  in  wax  what  was  wanting  for  the 
basement  of  the  cross.  I  carried  the  whole  to  the  Pope,  with 
the  Christ  in  wax,  and  many  other  exquisite  decorations  which 
gave  him  complete  satisfaction.  Before  I  took  leave  of  his 
Holiness,  we  had  agreed  on  every  detail,  and  calculated  the 
price  of  the  work. 

This  was  one  evening  four  hours  after  nightfall,  and  the 
Pope  had  ordered  Messer  Latino  Juvenale  to  see  that  I  had 
money  paid  to  me  next  morning.  This  Messer  Latino,  who 
had  a  pretty  big  dash  of  the  fool  in  his  composition,  be- 
thought him  of  furnishing  the  Pope  with  a  new  idea,  which 
was,  however,  wholly  of  his  own  invention.  So  he  altered 
everything  which  had  been  arranged;  and  next  morning, 
when  I  went  for  the  money,  he  said  with  his  usual  brutal 
arrogance:  "  It  is  our  part  to  invent,  and  yours  to  execute; 
before  I  left  the  Pope  last  night  we  thought  of  something 
far  superior."  To  these  first  words  I  answered,  without  allow- 
ing him  to  proceed  farther:  "  Neither  you  nor  the  Pope  can 
think  of  anything" better  than  a  piece  in  which  Christ  plays 
a  part;  so  you  may  go  on  with  your  courtier's  nonsense  till 
you  have  no  more  to  say." 

Without  uttering  one  word,  he  left  me  in  a  rage,  and  tried 
to  get  the  work  given  to  another  goldsmith.    The  Pope,  how- 

•  Cellini  returns  to  the  year  1535,  when  Charles  V  arrived  in  Novem- 
ber from  Tunis. 


MEMOIRS  169 

ever,  refused,  and  sent  for  nic  at  once,  and  told  me  I  had 
spoken  well,  but  that  they  wanted  to  make  use  of  a  Book  of 
Hours  of  Our  Lady,  which  was  marvellously  illuminated,  and 
had  cost  the  Cardinal  de'  Medici  more  than  two  thousand 
crowns.  They  thought  that  this  would  be  an  appropriate 
present  to  the  Empress,  and  that  for  the  Emperor  they  would 
afterward  make  what  1  had  suggested,  which  was  indeed  a 
preset  worthy  of  him;  but  now  there  was  no  time  to  lose, 
since  the  Emperor  was  expected  in  Rome  in  about  a  month 
and  a  half.  He  w-anted  the  book  to  be  inclosed  in  a  case  of 
massive  gold,  richly  worked,  and  adorned  with  jewels  valued 
at  about  six  thousand  crowns.  Accordingly,  when  the  jewels 
and  the  gold  were  given  me,  I  began  the  work,  and  driving 
it  briskly  forward,  in  a  few  days  brought  it  to  such  beauty 
that  the  Pope  was  astonished,  and  showed  me  the  most  dis- 
tinguished signs  of  favour,  conceding  at  the  same  time  that 
that  beast  Juvenale  should  have  nothing  more  to  do  with  me. 
I  had  nearly  brought  my  work  to  its  completion  when 
the  Emperor  arrived,  and  numerous  triumphal  arches  of  great 
magnificence  were  erected  in  his  honour.  He  entered  Rome 
with  extraordinary  pomp,  the  description*  of  which  I  leave 
to  others,  since  I  mean  to  treat  of  those  things  only  which 
concern  myself.^  Immediately  after  his  arrival,  he  gave  the 
Pope  a  diamond  which  he  had  bought  for  twelve  thousand 
crowns.  This  diamond  the  Pope  committed  to  my  care,  order- 
ing me  to  make  a  ring  to  the  measure  of  his  Holiness's  finger; 
but  first  he  wished  me  to  bring  the  book  in  the  state  to  which 
I  had  advanced  it.  I  took  it  accordingly,  and  he  was  highly 
pleased  with  it;  then  he  asked  my  advice  concerning  the 
apology  which  could  be  reasonably  made  to  the  Emperor  for 
the  unfinished  condition  of  my  work.  I  said  that  mv  indis- 
position would  furnish  a  sound  excuse,  since  his  Majesty, 
seeing  how  thin  and  pale  I  was,  would  very  readily  believe 
and  accept  it.  To  this  the  Pope  replied  that  he  approved  of 
the  suggestion,  but  that  I  should  add  on  the  part  of  his  Holi- 
ness, when  I  presented  the  book  to  the  Emperor,  that  I  made 
him  the  present  of  mvself.  Then  he  told  me  in  detail  how  I 
had  to  behave,  and  the  words  I  had  to  say.  These  words  I 
repeated  to  the  Pope,  asking  him  if  he  wished  me  to  deliver 
them  in  that  way.     He  replied :  "  You  would  acquit  yourself 

•  The  entry  into  Rome  took  place  April  6,  1536. 


170 


CELLINI 


to  admiration  if  you  had  the  courage  to  address  the  Emperor 
as  you  are  addressing  me."  Then  I  said  that  I  had  the  cour- 
age to  speak  with  far  greater  ease  and  freedom  to  the  Em- 
peror, seeing  that  the  Emperor  was  clothed  as  I  was,  and 
that  I  should  seem  to  be  speaking  to  a  man  formed  like  my- 
self; this  was  not  the  case  when  I  addressed  his  Holiness, 
in  whom  I  beheld  a  far  superior  deity,  both  by  reason  of  his 
ecclesiastical  adornments,  which  shed  a  certain  aureole  about 
him,  and  at  the  same  time  because  of  his  Holiness's  dignity 
of  venerable  age;  all  these  things  inspired  in  me  more  awe 
than  the  Imperial  Majesty.  To  these  words  the  Pope  re- 
sponded: "  Go,  my  Benvenuto;  you  are  a  man  of  ability;  do 
us  honour,  and  it  will  be  well  for  you." 

XCI 

The  Pope  ordered  out  two  Turkish  horses,  which  had 
belonged  to  Pope  Clement,  and  were  the  most  beautiful  that 
ever  came  to  Christendom.  Messer  Durante,^  his  chamber- 
lain, was  bidden  to  bring  them  through  the  lower  galleries 
of  the  palace,  and  there  to  give  them  to  the  Emperor,  repeat- 
ing certain  words  which  his  Holiness  dictated  to  him.  We 
both  went  down  together,  and  when  we  reached  the  presence 
of  the  Emperor,  the  horses  made  their  entrance  through  those 
halls  with  so  much  spirit  and  such  a  noble  carriage  that  the 
Emperor  and  every  one  were  struck  with  wonder.  There- 
upon Messer  Durante  advanced  in  so  graceless  a  manner, 
and  delivered  his  speech  with  so  much  of  Brescian  lingo, 
mumbling  his  words  over  in  his  mouth,  that  one  never  saw 
or  heard  anything  worse;  indeed  the  Emperor  could  not  re- 
frain from  smiling  at  him.  I  meanwhile  had  already  uncov- 
ered my  piece;  and  observing  that  the  Emperor  had  turned 
his  eyes  toward  me  with  a  very  gracious  look,  I  advanced 
at  once  and  said:  "Sacred  Majesty,  our  most  holy  Father, 
Pope  Paolo,  sends  this  book  of  the  Virgin  as  a  present  to 
your  Majesty,  the  which  is  written  in  a  fair  clerk's  hand,  and 
illuminated  by  the  greatest  master  who  ever  professed  that 
art;  and  this  rich  cover  of  gold  and  jewels  is  unfinished,  as 
you  here  behold  it,  by  reason  of  my  illness:  wherefore  his 
Holiness,  together  with  the  book,  presents  me  also,  and  at- 

'  Messer  Durante  Duranti,  Prefect  of  the  Camera  under  Paul  III,  who 
gave  him  the  hat  in  1544,  and  the  Bishopric  of  Brescia  afterward. 


MEMOIRS 


i;i 


taches  me  to  your  Majesty  in  order  that  I  may  complete  the 
work;  nor  this  alone,  but  everything  which  you  may  have 
it  in  your  mind  to  execute  so  long  as  life  is  left  me,  will  I 
perform  at  your  service."  Thereto  the  Emperor  responded: 
"  The  book  is  acceptable  to  me,  and  so  are  you;  but  I  desire 
you  to  complete  it  for  me  in  Rome;  when  it  is  finished,  and 
you  are  restored  to  health,  bring  it  me  and  come  to  see  me." 
Afterward,  in  course  of  conversation,  he  called  me  by  my 
name,  which  made  me  wonder,  because  no  words  had  been 
dropped  in  which  my  name  occurred;  and  he  said  that  he 
had  seen  that  fastening  of  Pope  Clement's  cope,  on  which 
I  had  wrought  so  many  wonderful  figures.  We  continued 
talking  in  this  way  a  whole  half  hour,  touching  on  divers 
topics  artistic  and  agreeable;  then,  since  it  seemed  to  me  that 
I  had  acquitted  myself  with  more  honour  than  I  had  expected, 
I  took  the  occasion  of  a  slight  lull  in  the  conversation  to  make 
my  bow  and  to  retire.  The  Emperor  was  heard  to  say:  "  Let 
five  hundred  golden  crowns  be  given  at  once  to  Benvenuto." 
The  person  who  brought  them  up  asked  who  the  Pope's  man 
was  who  had  spoken  to  the  Emperor.  Messer  Durante  came 
forward  and  robbed  me  of  my  five  hundred  crowns.  I  com- 
plained to  the  Pope,  who  told  me  not  to  be  uneasy,  for  he 
knew  how  everything  had  happened,  and  how  well  I  had  con- 
ducted myself  in  addressing  the  Emperor,  and  of  the  money 
I  should  certainly  obtain  my  share. 

XCII 

When  I  returned  to  my  shop,  I  set  my  hand  with  dili- 
gence to  finishing  the  diamond  ring,  concerning  which  the 
four  first  jewellers  of  Rome  were  sent  to  consult  with  me. 
This  was  because  the  Pope  had  been  informed  that  the  dia- 
mond had  been  set  by  the  first  jeweller  of  the  world  in  Venice; 
he  was  called  Maestro  Miliano  Targhetta;  and  the  diamond 
being  somewhat  thin,  the  job  of  setting  it  was  too  difficult  to 
be  attempted  without  great  deliberation.  I  was  well  pleased 
to  receive  these  four  jewellers,  among  whom  was  a  man  of 
Milan  called  Gaio.  He  was  the  most  presumptuous  donkey 
in  the  world,  the  one  who  knew  least  and  who  thought  he 
knew  most;  the  others  were  very  modest  and  able  crafts- 
men. In  the  presence  of  us  all  this  Gaio  began  to  talk,  and 
said:  "  Miliano's   foil   should   be   preserved,   and   to   do   that. 


172 


CELLINI 


Benvenuto,  you  shall  doff  your  cap;^  for  just  as  giving  dia- 
monds a  tint  is  the  most  delicate  and  difficult  thing  in  the 
jeweller's  art,  so  is  Miliano  the  greatest  jeweller  that  ever 
lived,  and  this  is  the  most  difficult  diamond  to  tint."  I  replied 
that  it  was  all  the  greater  glory  for  me  to  compete  with  so 
able  a  master  in  such  an  excellent  profession.  Afterward  I 
turned  to  the  other  jewellers  and  said:  "  Look  here!  I  am 
keeping  Miliano's  foil,  and  I  will  see  whether  I  can  improve 
on  it  with  some  of  my  own  manufacture;  if  not,  we  will  tint 
it  with  the  same  you  see  here."  That  ass  Gaio  exclaimed 
that  if  I  made  a  foil  like  that  he  would  gladly  doff  his  cap 
to  it.  To  which  I  replied:  "  Supposing  then  I  make  it  better, 
it  will  deserve  two  bows."  "  Certainly  so,"  said  he;  and  I 
began  to  compose  my  foils. 

I  took  the  very  greatest  pains  in  mixing  the  tints,  the 
method  of  doing  which  I  will  explain  in  the  proper  place. 
It  is  certain  that  the  diamond  in  question  offered  more  diffi- 
culties than  any  others  which  before  or  afterward  have  come 
into  my  hands,  and  Miliano's  foil  was  made  with  true  artistic 
skill.  However,  that  did  not  dismay  me;  but  having  sharp- 
ened my  wits  up,  I  succeeded  not  only  in  making  something 
quite  as  good,  but  in  exceeding  it  by  far.  Then,  when  I  saw 
that  I  had  surpassed  him,  I  went  about  to  surpass  myself,  and 
produced  a  foil  by  new  processes  which  was  a  long  way  better 
than  what  I  had  previously  made.  Thereupon  I  sent  for 
the  jewellers;  and  first  I  tinted  the  diamond  with  Miliano's 
foil;  then  I  cleaned  it  well  and  tinted  it  afresh  with  my  own. 
When  I  showed  it  to  the  jewellers,  one  of  the  best  among 
them,  who  was  called  Raffael  del  Moro,  took  the  diamond 
in  his  hand  and  said  to  Gaio:  "  Benvenuto  has  outdone  the 
foil  of  Miliano."  Gaio,  unwilling  to  believe  it,  took  the 
diamond  and  said:  "  Benvenuto,  this  diamond  is  worth  two 
thousand  ducats  more  than  with  the  foil  of  Miliano."  I  re- 
joined: "  Now  that  I  have  surpassed  Miliano,  let  us  see  if  I 
can  surpass  myself."  Then  I  begged  them  to  wait  for  me 
a  while,  went  up  into  a  little  cabinet,  and  having  tinted  the 
diamond  anew  unseen  by  them,  returned  and  showed  it  to 
the  jewellers.  Gaio  broke  out  at  once:  "This  is  the  mos"t 
marvellous  thing  that  I  have  ever  seen  in  the  course  of  my 

'  These  foils  were  composed  of  paste,  and  coloured  so  as  to  enhance 
the  effect  of  precious  stones,  particularly  diamonds. 


MEMOIRS  173 

whole  lifetime.  The  stone  is  worth  upward  of  eighteen  thou- 
sand crowns,  whereas  we  valued  it  at  barely  twelve  thou- 
sand." The  other  jewellers  turned  to  him  and  said:  "  Ben- 
venuto  is  the  glory  of  our  art,  and  it  is  only  due  that  we  should 
dof¥  our  caps  to  him  and  to  his  foils."  Then  Gaio  said:  "  I 
shall  go  and  tell  the  Pope,  and  I  mean  to  procure  for  him 
one  thousand  golden  crowns  for  the  setting  of  this  diamond." 
Accordingly  he  hurried  to  the  Pope  and  told  him  the  whole 
story;  whereupon  his  Holiness  sent  three  times  on  that  day 
to  see  if  the  ring  was  finished. 

At  twenty-three  o'clock  I  took  the  ring  to  the  palace; 
and  since  the  doors  were  always  open  to  me,  I  lifted  the  cur- 
tain gently,  and  saw  the  Pope  in  private  audience  with  the 
Marchese  del  Guasto.^  The  Marquis  must  have  been  press- 
ing something  on  the  Pope  which  he  was  unwilling  to  per- 
form; for  I  heard  him  say:  "  I  tell  you,  no;  it  is  my  business 
to  remain  neutral,  and  nothing  else."  I  was  retiring  as  quickly 
as  I  could,  when  the  Pope  himself  called  me  back;  so  I  en- 
tered the  room,  and  presented  the  diamond  ring,  upon  which 
he  drew  me  aside,  and  the  Marquis  retired  to  a  distance. 
While  looking  at  the  diamond,  the  Pope  whispered  to  me: 
"  Benvenuto,  begin  some  conversation  with  me  on  a  subject 
which  shall  seem  important,  and  do  not  stop  talking  so  long 
as  the  Marquis  remains  in  this  room."  Then  he  took  to  walk- 
ing up  and  down;  and  the  occasion  making  for  my  advan- 
tage, I  was  very  glad  to  discourse  with  him  upon  the  methods 
I  had  used  to  tint  the  stone.  The  Marquis  remained  stand- 
ing apart,  leaning  against  a  piece  of  tapestry;  and  now  he  bal- 
anced himself  about  on  one  foot,  now  on  the  other.  The 
subject  I  had  chosen  to  discourse  upon  was  of  such  impor- 
tance, if  fully  treated,  that  I  could  have  talked  about  it  at 
least  three  hours.  The  Pope  was  entertained  to  such  a  degree 
that  he  forgot  the  annoyance  of  the  Marquis  standing  there. 
I  seasoned  what  I  had  to  say  with  that  part  of  natural  phi- 
losophy which  belongs  to  our  profession;  and  when  I  had 
spoken  for  near  upon  an  hour,  the  Marquis  grew  tired  of 
waiting,  and  went  off  fuming.  Then  the  Pope  bestowed  on 
me  the  most  familiar  caresses  which  can  be  imagined,  and 

'  Alfonson  d'Avalos,  successor  and  heir  to  the  famous  Ferdinando 
d'Avalos,  Marquis  of  Pescara.  He  acted  for  many  years  as  Spanish 
Viceroy  of  Milan. 


174 


CELLINI 


exclaimed:  "Have  patience,  my  dear  Benvenuto,  for  I  will 
give  you  a  better  reward  for  your  virtues  than  the  thousand 
crowns  which  Gaio  tells  me  your  work  is  worth." 

On  this  I  took  my  leave;  and  the  Pope  praised  me  in  the 
presence  of  his  household,  among  whom  was  the  fellow  Latino 
Juvenale,  whom  I  have  previously  mentioned.  This  man, 
having  become  my  enemy,  assiduously  strove  to  do  me  hurt; 
and  noticing  that  the  Pope  talked  of  me  with  so  much  aflfec- 
tion  and  warmth,  he  put  in  his  word:  "There  is  no  doubt 
at  all  that  Benvenuto  is  a  person  of  very  remarkable  genius; 
but  while  every  one  is  naturally  bound  to  feel  more  good-will 
for  his  own  countrymen  than  for  others,  still  one  ought  to 
consider  maturely  what  language  it  is  right  and  proper  to 
use  when  speaking  of  a  Pope.  He  has  had  the  audacity  to 
say  that  Pope  Clement  indeed  was  the  handsomest  sovereign 
that  ever  reigned,  and  no  less  gifted;  only  that  luck  was 
always  against  him:  and  he  says  that  your  Holiness  is  quite 
the  opposite;  that  the  tiara  seems  to  weep  for  rage  upon  your 
head;  that  you  look  like  a  truss  of  straw  with  clothes  on, 
and  that  there  is  nothing  in  you  except  good  luck."  These 
words,  reported  by  a  man  who  knew  most  excellently  how 
to  say  them,  had  such  force  that  they  gained  credit  with  the 
Pope.  Far  from  having  uttered  them,  such  things  had  never 
come  into  my  head.  If  the  Pope  could  have  done  so  with- 
out losing  credit,  he  would  certainly  have  taken  fierce  re- 
venge upon  me;  but  being  a  man  of  great  tact  and  talent, 
he  made  a  show  of  turning  it  off  with  a  laugh.  Nevertheless 
he  harboured  in  his  heart  a  deep  vindictive  feeling  against 
me,  of  which  I  was  not  slow  to  be  aware,  since  I  had  no 
longer  the  same  easy  access  to  his  apartments  as  formerly, 
but  found  the  greatest  diflficulty  in  procuring  audience.  As 
I  had  now  for  many  years  been  familiar  with  the  manners  of 
the  Roman  court,  I  conceived  that  some  one  had  done  me 
a  bad  turn;  and  on  making  dexterous  inquiries,  I  was  told 
the  whole,  but  not  the  name  of  my  calumniator.  I  could 
not  imagine  who  the  man  was;  had  I  but  found  him  out,  my 
vengeance  would  not  have  been  measured  by  troy  weight. 

XCIII 

I  went  on  working  at  my  book,  and  when  I  had  finished 
it  I  took  it  to  the  Pope,  who  was  in  good  truth  unable  to  re- 


MEMOIRS  t  175 

frain  from  commending  it  greatly.  I  begged  him  to  send 
me  with  it  to  the  Emperor,  as  he  had  promised.  He  repHed 
that  he  would  do  what  he  thought  fit,  and  that  I  had  per- 
formed my  part  of  the  business.  So  he  gave  orders  that  I 
should  be  well  paid.  These  two  pieces  of  work,  on  which  I 
had  spent  upward  of  two  months,  brought  me  in  five  hun- 
dred crowns:  for  the  diamond  I  received  one  hundred  and 
fifty  crowns  and  no  more;  the  rest  was  given  me  for  the 
cover  of  the  book,  which,  however,  was  worth  more  than  a 
thousand,  being  enriched  with  multitudes  of  figures,  ara- 
besques, enamellings,  and  jewels.  I  took  what  I  could  get, 
and  made  my  mind  up  to  leave  Rome  without  permission. 
The  Pope  meanwhile  sent  my  book  to  the  Emperor  by  the 
hand  of  his  grandson,  Signor  Sforza.  Upon  accepting  it,  the 
Emperor  expressed  great  satisfaction,  and  immediately  asked 
for  me.  Young  Signor  Sforza,  who  had  received  his  instruc- 
tions, said  that  I  had  been  prevented  by  illness  from  coming. 
All  this  was  reported  to  me. 

My  preparations  for  the  journey  into  France  were  made; 
and  I  wished  to  go  alone,  but  was  unable  on  account  of  a 
lad  in  my  service  called  Ascanio.  He  was  of  very  tender 
age,  and  the  most  admirable  servant  in  the  world.  When 
I  took  him  he  had  left  a  former  master,  named  Francesco, 
a  Spaniard  and  a  goldsmith.  I  did  not  much  like  to  take 
him,  lest  I  should  get  into  a  quarrel  with  the  Spaniard,  and 
said  to  Ascanio:  "  I  do  not  want  to  have  you,  for  fear  of 
offending  your  master."  He  contrived  that  his  master  should 
write  me  a  note  informing  me  that  I  was  free  to  take  him. 
So  he  had  been  with  me  some  months;  and  since  he  came 
to  us  both  thin  and  pale  of  face,  we  called  him  "  the  little 
old  man;"  indeed  I  almost  thought  he  was  one.  partly  be- 
cause he  was  so  good  a  servant,  and  partly  because  he  was 
so  clever  that  it  seemed  unlikely  he  should  have  such  talent 
at  thirteen  years,  w'hich  he  affirmed  his  age  to  be.  Now  to 
go  back  to  the  point  from  which  I  started,  he  improved  in 
person  during  those  few  months,  and  gaining  in  flesh,  became 
the  handsomest  youth  in  Rome.  As  he  was  the  excellent 
servant  I  have  described,  and  showine  marvellous  aptitude  for 
our  art,  I  felt  a  warm  and  fatherly  affection  for  him,  and  kept 
him  clothed  as  if  he  had  been  my  own  son.  When  the  boy 
perceived  the  improvement  he  had  made,  he  esteemed  it  a 


176 


CELLINI 


good  piece  of  luck  that  he  had  come  into  my  hands;  and 
he  used  frequently  to  go  and  thank  his  former  master,  who 
had  been  the  cause  of  his  prosperity.  Now  this  man  had  a 
handsome  young  woman  to  wife,  who  said  to  him:  "  Sur- 
getto  "  (that  was  what  they  called  him  when  he  lived  with 
them),  "  what  have  you  been  doing  to  become  so  handsome?  " 
Ascanio  answered:  "  Madonna  Francesco,  it  is  my  master 
who  has  made  me  so  handsome,  and  far  more  good  to  boot." 
In  her  petty  spiteful  way  she  took  it  very  ill  that  Ascanio 
should  speak  so;  and  she  contrived  to  caress  the  lad  more  per- 
haps than  was  quite  seemly,  which  made  me  notice  that  he 
began  to  visit  her  more  frequently  than  his  wont  had  been. 

One  day  Ascanio  took  to  beating  one  of  our  little  shop- 
boya,  who,  when  I  came  home  from  out  of  doors,  complained 
to  me  with  tears  that  Ascanio  had  knocked  him  about  with- 
out any  cause.  Hearing  this,  I  said  to  Ascanio:  "With 
cause  or  without  cause,  see  you  never  strike  any  one  of  my 
family,  or  else  I'll  make  you  feel  how  I  can  strike  myself." 
He  bandied  words  with  me,  which  made  me  jump  on  him 
and  give  him  the  severest  drubbing  with  both  fists  and  feet 
that  he  had  ever  felt.  As  soon  as  he  escaped  my  clutches,  he 
ran  away  without  cape  or  cap,  and  for  two  days  I  did  not 
know  where  he  was,  and  took  no  care  to  find  him.  After 
that  time  a  Spanish  gentleman,  called  Don  Diego,  came  to 
speak  to  me.  He  was  the  most  generous  man  in  the  world. 
I  had  made,  and  w^as  making,  some  things  for  him,  which 
had  brought  us  well  acquainted.  He  told  me  that  Ascanio 
had  gone  back  to  his  old  master,  and  asked  me,  if  I  thought 
it  proper,  to  send  him  the  cape  and  cap  which  I  had  given 
him.  Thereupon  I  said  that  Francesco  had  behaved  badly, 
and  like  a  low-bred  fellow;  for  if  he  had  told  me,  when  As- 
canio first  came  back  to  him,  that  he  was  in  his  house,  I 
should  very  willingly  have  given  him  leave;  but  now  that 
he  had  kept  him  two  days  without  informing  me,  I  was  re- 
solved he  should  not  have  him;  and  let  him  take  care  that  I 
do  not  set  eyes  upon  the  lad  in  his  house.  This  message 
was  reported  by  Don  Diego,  but  it  only  made  Francesco 
laugh.  The  next  morning  I  saw  Ascanio  working  at  some 
trifles  in  wire  at  his  master's  side.  As  I  was  passing  he  bowed 
to  me,  and  his  master  almost  laughed  me  in  the  face.  He 
sent  again  to  ask  through  Don  Diego  whether  I  would  not 


MEMOIRS  177 

give  Ascanio  back  the  clothes  he  had  received  from  me;  but 
if  not,  he  did  not  mind,  and  Ascanio  should  not  want  for 
clothes.  When  I  heard  this,  I  turned  to  Don  Diego  and  said: 
"  Don  Diego,  sir,  in  all  your  dealings  you  are  the  most  liberal 
and  worthy  man  I  ever  knew;  but  that  Francesco  is  quite 
the  opposite  of  you;  he  is  nothing  better  than  a  worthless 
and  dishonoured  renegade.  Tell  him  from  me  that  if  he 
does  not  bring  Ascanio  here  himself  to  my  shop  before  the 
bell  for  vespers,  I  will  assuredly  kill  him;  and  tell  Ascanio 
that  if  he  does  not  quit  that  house  at  the  hour  appointed 
for  his  master,  I  will  treat  him  much  in  the  same  way."  Don 
Diego  made  no  answer,  but  went  and  inspired  such  terror 
in  Francesco  that  he  knew  not  what  to  do  with  himself. 
Ascanio  meanwhile  had  gone  to  find  his  father,  who  had 
come  to  Rome  from  Tagliacozzo,  his  birthplace;  and  this 
man  also,  when  he  heard  about  the  row,  advised  Francesco 
to  bring  Ascanio  back  to  me.  Francesco  said  to  Ascanio: 
"  Go  on  your  own  account,  and  your  father  shall  go  with 
you."  Don  Diego  put  in:  "  Francesco,  I  foresee  that  some- 
thing very  serious  will  happen;  you  know  better  than  I  do 
what  a  man  Benvenuto  is;  take  the  lad  back  courageously, 
and  I  will  come  with  you."  I  had  prepared  myself,  and  was 
pacing  up  and  down  the  shop  waiting  for  the  bell  to  vespers; 
my  mind  was  made  up  to  do  one  of  the  bloodiest  deeds  which 
I  had  ever  attempted  in  my  life.  Just  then  arrived  Don 
Diego,  Francesco,  Ascanio,  and  his  father,  whom  I  did  not 
know.  When  Ascanio  entered,  I  gazed  at  the  whole  com- 
pany with  eyes  of  rage,  and  Francesco,  pale  as  death,  began 
as  follows :  "  See  here,  I  have  brought  back  Ascanio,  whom 
I  kept  with  me,  not  thinking  that  I  should  ofTend  you." 
Ascanio  added  humbly :  "  Master,  pardon  me ;  I  am  at  your 
disposal  here,  to  do  whatever  you  shall  order."  Then  I  said : 
"  Have  you  come  to  work  out  the  time  you  promised  me?" 
He  answered  yes,  and  that  he  meant  never  to  leave  me. 
Then  I  turned  and  told  the  shopboy  he  had  beaten  to  hand 
him  the  bundle  of  clothes,  and  said  to  him:  "  Here  are  all  the 
clothes  I  gave  you;  take  with  them  your  discharge,  and  go 
where  you  like."  Don  Diego  stood  astonished  at  this,  which 
was  quite  the  contrary  of  what  he  had  expected;  while  Ascanio 
with  his  father  besought  me  to  pardon  and  take  him  back. 

On  my  asking  who  it  was  who  spoke  for  him,  he  said  it  was 
12 


1/8 


CELLINI 


his  father;  to  whom,  after  many  entreaties,  I  replied:  "  Be- 
cause you  are  his  father,  for  your  sake  I  will  take  him  back." 

XCIV 

I  had  formed  the  resolution,  as  I  said  a  short  while  back, 
to  go  toward  France;  partly  because  I  saw  that  the  Pope 
did  not  hold  me  in  the  same  esteem  as  formerly,  my  faithful 
service  having  been  besmirched  by  lying  tongues;  and  also 
because  I  feared  lest  those  who  had  the  power  might  play 
me  some  worse  trick.  So  I  was  determined  to  seek  better 
fortune  in  a  foreign  land,  and  wished  to  leave  Rome  without 
company  or  license.  On  the  eve  of  my  projected  departure, 
I  told  my  faithful  friend  Felice  to  make  free  use  of  all  my 
effects  during  my  absence;  and  in  the  case  of  my  not  re- 
turning, left  him  everything  I  possessed.  Now  there  was  a 
Perugian  workman  in  my  employ,  who  had  helped  me  on 
those  commissions  from  the  Pope;  and  after  paying  his  wages, 
I  told  him  he  must  leave  my  service.  Pie  begged  me  in  reply 
to  let  him  go  with  me,  and  said  he  would  come  at  his  own 
charges;  if  I  stopped  to  work  for  the  King  of  France,  it  would 
certainly  be  better  for  me  to  have  Italians  by  me,  and  in  par- 
ticular such  persons  as  I  knew  to  be  capable  of  giving  me 
assistance.  His  entreaties  and  arguments  persuaded  me  to 
take  him  on  the  journey  in  the  manner  he  proposed.  Ascanio, 
who  was  present  at  this  debate,  said,  half  in  tears:  "When 
you  took  me  back,  I  said  I  wished  to  remain  with  you  my 
lifetime,  and  so  I  have  it  in  my  mind  to  do."  I  told  him  that 
nothing  in  the  world  would  make  me  consent;  but  when  I 
saw  that  the  poor  lad  was  preparing  to  follow  on  foot,  I  en- 
gaged a  horse  for  him  too,  put  a  small  valise  upon  the  crup- 
per, and  loaded  myself  with  far  more  useless  baggage  than  I 
should  otherwise  have  taken. ^ 

From  home  I  travelled  to  Florence,  from  Florence  to 
Bologna,  from  Bologna  to  Venice,  and  from  Venice  to  Padua. 
There  my  dear  friend  Albertaccio  del  Bene  made  me  leave 
the  inn  for  his  house;  and  next  day  I  went  to  kiss  the  hand 
of  Messer  Pietro  Bembo,  who  was  not  yet  a  Cardinal.^  He 
received  me  with  marks  of  the  warmest  affection  which  could 

'  April  I,  1537. 

'  Rembo  ruled  over  Italian  literature  like  a  dictator  from  the  reisfn  of 
Leo  X  onward.  He  was  of  a  noble  Venetian  house  ;  Paul  III  made  him 
Cardinal  in  1539.     He  died  in  1547. 


MEMOIRS 


179 


be  bestowed  on  any  man;  then  turning  to  Albertaccio,  he 
said:  "  I  want  Benvenuto  to  stay  here,  with  all  his  follow- 
ers, even  though  they  be  a  hundred  men;  make  then  your 
mind  up,  if  you  want  Benvenuto  also,  to  stay  here  with  me, 
for  I  do  not  mean  elsewise  to  let  you  have  him."  Accord- 
ingly I  spent  a  very  pleasant  visit  at  the  house  of  that  most 
accomplished  gentleman.  He  had  a  room  prepared  for  me 
which  would  have  been  too  grand  for  a  cardinal,  and  always 
insisted  on  my  taking  my  meals  beside  him.  Later,  he  began 
to  hint  in  very  modest  terms  that  he  should  greatly  like  me 
to  take  his  portrait.  I,  who  desired  nothing  in  the  world 
more,  prepared  some  snow-white  plaster  in  a  little  box,  and 
set  to  work  at  once.  The  first  day  I  spent  two  hours  on 
end  at  my  modelling,  and  blocked  out  the  fine  head  of  that 
eminent  man  with  so  much  grace  of  manner  that  his  lordship 
Avas  fairly  astounded.  Now,  though  he  was  a  man  of  pro- 
found erudition  and  without  a  rival  in  poetry,  he  understood 
nothing  at  all  about  my  art;  this  made  him  think  that  I  had 
finished  when  I  had  hardly  begun,  so  that  I  could  not  make 
him  comprehend  what  a  long  time  it  took  to  execute  a  thing 
of  that  sort  thoroughly.  At  last  I  resolved  to  do  it  as  well 
as  I  was  able,  and  to  spend  the  requisite  time  upon  it;  but 
since  he  wore  his  beard  short  after  the  Venetian  fashion,  I 
had  great  trouble  in  modelling  a  head  to  my  own  satisfac- 
tion. However,  I  finished  it,  and  judged  it  about  the  finest 
specimen  I  had  produced  in  all  the  points  pertaining  to  my 
art.  Great  was  the  astonishment  of  Messer  Pietro,  who  con- 
ceived that  I  should  have  completed  the  waxen  model  in 
two  hours  and  the  steel  in  ten,  when  he  found  that  I  em- 
ployed two  hundred  on  the  wax,  and  then  was  begging  for 
leave  to  pursue  my  journey  toward  France.  This  threw  him 
into  much  concern,  and  he  implored  me  at  least  to  design 
the  reverse  for  his  medal,  which  was  to  be  a  Pegasus  encir- 
cled with  a  wreath  of  myrtle.  I  performed  my  task  in  the 
space  of  some  three  hours,  and  gave  it  a  fine  air  of  elegance. 
He  was  exceedingly  delighted,  and  said:  "This  horse  seems 
to  me  ten  times  more  difficult  to  do  than  the  little  portrait  on 
which  you  have  bestowed  so  much  pains.  I  can  not  under- 
stand what  made  it  such  a  labour."  All  the  same,  he  kept 
entreating  me  to  execute  the  piece  in  steel,  exclaiming:  "  For 
Heaven's  sake,  do  it;  I  know  that,  if  you  choose,  you  will 


l8o  CELLINI 

get  it  quickly  finished."  I  told  him  that  I  was  not  willing 
to  make  it  there,  but  promised  without  fail  to  take  it  in  hand 
wherever  I  might  stop  to  work. 

While  this  debate  was  being  carried  on  I  went  to  bargain 
for  three  horses  which  I  wanted  on  my  travels;  and  he  took 
care  that  a  secret  watch  should  be  kept  over  my  proceedings, 
for  he  had  vast  authority  in  Padua;  wherefore,  when  I  pro- 
posed to  pay  for  the  horses,  which  were  to  cost  five  hundred 
ducats,  their  owner  answered:  "  Illustrious  artist,  I  make  you 
a  present  of  the  three  horses."  I  replied:  "  It  is  not  you 
who  give  them  me;  and  from  the  generous  donor  I  can  not 
accept  them,  seeing  I  have  been  unable  to  present  him  with 
any  specimen  of  my  craft."  The  good  fellow  said  that,  if  I 
did  not  take  them,  I  should  get  no  other  horses  in  Padua,  and 
should  have  to  make  my  journey  on  foot.  Upon  that  I  re- 
turned to  the  magnificent  Messer  Pietro,  who  affected  to  be 
ignorant  of  the  affair,  and  only  begged  me  with  marks  of 
kindness  to  remain  in  Padua.  This  was  contrary  to  my  inten- 
tion, for  I  had  quite  resolved  to  set  out;  therefore  I  had  to 
accept  the  three  horses,  and  with  them  we  began  our  journey. 

xcv 

I  chose  the  route  through  the  Grisons,  all  other  passes 
being  unsafe  on  account  of  war.  We  crossed  the  mountains 
of  the  Alba  and  Berlina;  it  was  the  8th  of  May,  and  the  snow 
upon  them  lay  in  masses.  At  the  utmost  hazard  of  our  lives 
we  succeeded  in  surmounting  those  two  Alpine  ridges;  and 
when  they  had  been  traversed,  we  stopped  at  a  place  which, 
if  I  remember  rightly,  is  called  Valdista.  There  we  took  up 
quarters,  and  at  nightfall  there  arrived  a  Florentine  courier 
named  Busbacca.  I  had  heard  him  mentioned  as  a  man  of 
character  and  able  in  his  profession,  but  I  did  not  know  that 
he  had  forfeited  that  reputation  by  his  rogueries.  When 
he  saw  me  in  the  hostelry,  he  addressed  me  by  my  name, 
said  he  was  going  on  business  of  importance  to  Lyons,  and 
entreated  me  to  lend  him  money  for  the  journey.  I  said  I 
had  no  money  to  lend,  but  that  if  he  liked  to  join  me,  I  would 
pay  his  expenses  as  far  as  Lyons.  The  rascal  wept,  and 
wheedled  mc  with  a  long  story,  saying:  "  If  a  poor  courier 
employed  on  affairs  of  national  consequence  has  fallen  short 
of  money,  it  is>  the  duty  of  a  man  like  you  to  assist  him." 


MEMOIRS  l8l 

Then  he  added  that  he  was  carrying  things  of  the  utmost 
importance  from  Messer  FiHppo  Strozzi ;  *  and  showing  me 
a  leather  case  for  a  cup  he  had  with  him,  wliispered  in  my 
ear  that  it  held  a  goblet  of  silver  which  contained  jewels 
to  the  value  of  many  thousands  of  ducats,  together  with  let- 
ters of  vast  consequence,  sent  by  Messer  Filippo  Strozzi.  I 
told  him  that  he  ought  to  let  me  conceal  the  jewels  about 
his  own  person,  which  would  be  much  less  dangerous  than 
carrying  them  in  the  goblet;  he  might  give  that  up  to  me, 
and,  its  value  being  probably  about  ten  crowns,  I  would 
supply  him  with  twenty-five  on  the  security.  To  these  words 
the  courier  replied  that  he  would  go  with  me,  since  he  could 
not  do  otherwise,  for  to  give  up  the  goblet  would  not  be  to 
his  honour. 

Accordingly  we  struck  the  bargain  so;  and  taking  horse 
next  morning,  came  to  a  lake  between  Valdistate  and  Vessa; 
it  is  fifteen  miles  long  when  one  reaches  Vessa.  On  behold- 
ing the  boats  upon  that  lake  I  took  fright;  because  they  are 
of  pine,  of  no  great  size  and  no  great  thickness,  loosely  put 
together,  and  not  even  pitched.  If  I  had  not  seen  four  Ger- 
man gentlemen,  with  their  four  horses,  embarking  in  one 
of  the  same  sort  as  ours,  I  should  never  have  set  my  foot 
in  it;  indeed  I  should  far  more  likely  have  turned  tail;  but 
when  I  saw  their  hare-brained  recklessness,  I  took  it  into  my 
head  that  those  German  waters  would  not  drown  folk,  as  ours 
do  in  Italy.  However,  my  two  young  men  kept  saying  to 
me:  "  Benvenuto,  it  is  surely  dangerous  to  embark  in  this 
craft  with  four  horses."  I  replied:  "You  cowards,  do  you 
not  observe  how  those  four  gentlemen  have  taken  boat  before 
us,  and  are  going  on  their  way  with  laughter?  If  this  were 
wine,  as  indeed  'tis  water,  I  should  say  that  they  were  going 
gladly  to  drown  themselves  in  it;  but  as  it  is  but  water,  I 
know  well  that  they  have  no  more  pleasure  than  we  have 
in  drowning  there."  The  lake  was  fifteen  miles  long  and 
about  three  broad;  on  one  side  rose  a  mountain  very  tall 
and  cavernous,  on  the  other  some  flat  land  and  grassy.  When 
we  had  gone  about  four  miles,  it  began  to  storm  upon  the 
lake,  and  our  oarsmen  asked  us  to  help  in  rowing;  this  w^ 

did  awhile.     I  made  gestures  and  directed  them  to  lar  '. 

s  ^       agmg 

'  Filippo  Strozzi  was  leader  of  the  anti-Medicean  party,  now  in^g^^    q^^- 

fell  into  the  hands  of  Duke  Cosimo  on  the  ist  of  August  in  thv  rlried 


l82  CELLINI 

on  the  farther  shore;  they  said  it  was  not  possible,  because 
there  was  not  depth  of  water  for  the  boat,  and  there  were 
shoals  there,  which  would  make  it  go  to  pieces  and  drown 
us  all;  and  still  they  kept  on  urging  us  to  help  them.  The 
boatmen  shouted  one  to  the  other,  calling  for  assistance. 
When  I  saw  them  thus  dismayed,  my  horse  being  an  intelli- 
gent animal,  I  arranged  the  bridle  on  his  neck  and  took  the 
end  of  the  halter  with  my  left  hand.  The  horse,  like  most 
of  his  kind,  being  not  devoid  of  reason,  seemed  to  have  an 
instinct  of  my  intention;  for  having  turned  his  face  toward 
the  fresh  grass,  I  meant  that  he  should  swim  and  draw  me 
after  him.  Just  at  that  moment  a  great  wave  broke  over  the 
boat.  Ascanio  shrieked  out:  "  Mercy,  my  father;  save  me," 
and  wanted  to  throw  himself  upon  my  neck.  Accordingly,  I 
laid  hand  to  my  little  dagger,  and  told  them  to  do  as  I  had 
shown  them,  seeing  that  the  horses  would  save  their  lives 
as  well  as  I  too  hoped  to  escape  with  mine  by  the  same  means; 
but  that  if  he  tried  to  jump  on  me,  I  should  kill  him.  So  we 
went  forward  several  miles  in  this  great  peril  of  our  lives. 

XCVI 

When  we  had  reached  the  middle  of  the  lake,  we  found 
a  little  bit  of  level  ground  where  we  could  land,  and  I  saw 
that  those  four  German  gentlemen  had  already  come  to  shore 
there;  but  on  our  wishing  to  disembark,  the  boatmen  would 
hear  nothing  of  it.  Then  I  said  to  my  young  men:  "  Now 
is  the  time  to  show  what  stufT  we  are  made  of;  so  draw  your 
sworcls,  and  force  these  fellows  to  put  us  on  shore."  This 
we  did,  not  however  without  difficulty,  for  they  offered  a 
stubborn  resistance.  When  at  last  we  got  to  land,  we  had  to 
climb  that  mountain  for  two  miles,  and  it  was  more  trouble- 
some than  getting  up  a  ladder.  I  was  completely  clothed 
in  mail,  with  big  boots,  and  a  gun  in  my  hand;  and  it  was 
raining  as  though  the  fountains  of  the  heavens  were  opened. 
Those  devils,  the  German  gentlemen,  leading  their  little  horses 
by  the  bridle,  accomplished  miracles  of  agility;  but  our  ani- 
mals were  not  up  to  the  business,  and  we  burst  with  the 
fatigue  of  making  them  ascend  that  hill  of  difficulty.  We 
had  climbed  a  little  way,  when  Ascanio's  horse,  an  excellent 
beast  of  Hungarian  race,  marie  a  false  step.  He  was  going 
a  few  paces  before  the  courier  Busbacca,  to  whom  Ascanio 


MEMOIRS 


183 


had  given  his  lance  to  carry  for  him.  Well,  the  path  was  so 
bad  that  the  horse  stumbled,  and  went  on  scrambling  back- 
ward, without  being  able  to  regain  his  footing,  till  he  stuck 
upon  the  point  of  the  lance,  which  that  rogue  of  a  courier 
had  not  the  wit  to  keep  out  of  his  way.  The  weapon  passed 
right  through  his  throat;  and  when  my  other  workman  went 
to  help  him,  his  horse  also,  a  black-coloured  animal,  slipped 
toward  the  lake,  and  held  on  by  some  shrub  which  offered  but 
a  slight  support.  This  horse  was  carrying  a  pair  of  saddle- 
bags, which  contained  all  my  money  and  other  valuables.  I 
cried  out  to  the  young  man  to  save  his  own  life,  and  let  the 
horse  go  to  the  devil.  The  fall  was  more  than  a  mile  of  pre- 
cipitous descent  above  the  waters  of  the  lake.  Just  below 
the  place  our  boatmen  had  taken  up  their  station;  so  that 
if  the  horse  fell,  he  would  have  come  precisely  on  them.  I 
was  ahead  of  the  whole  company,  and  we  waited  to  see  the 
horse  plunge  headlong;  it  seemed  certain  that  he  must  go 
to  perdition.  During  this  I  said  to  my  young  men:  "  Be 
under  no  concern;  let  us  save  our  lives,  and  give  thanks 
to  God  for  all  that  happens.  I  am  only  distressed,  for  that 
poor  fellow  Busbacca,  who  tied  his  goblet  and  his  jewels  to 
the  value  of  several  thousands  of  ducats  on  the  horse's  saddle- 
bow, thinking  that  the  safest  place.  My  things  are  but  a 
few  hundred  crowns,  and  I  am  in  no  fear  whatever,  if  only 
I  get  God's  protection."  Then  Busbacca  cried  out:  "  I  am 
not  sorry  for  my  own  loss,  but  for  yours."  "  Why,"  said  I 
to  him,  "  are  you  sorry  for  my  trifles,  and  not  for  all  that 
property  of  yours?"  He  answered:  "  I  will  tell  you  in  God's 
name;  in  these  circumstances  and  at  the  point  of  peril  we 
have  reached,  truth  must  be  spoken.  I  know  that  yours  are 
crowns,  and  are  so  in  good  sooth;  but  that  case  in  which  I 
said  I  had  so  many  jewels  and  other  lies,  is  all  full  of  caviare." 
On  hearing  this  I  could  not  hold  from  laughing;  my  young 
men  laughed  too;  and  he  began  to  cry.  The  horse  extri- 
cated itself  by  a  great  effort  when  we  had  given  it  up  for 
lost.  So  then,  still  laughing,  we  summoned  our  forces,  and 
bent  ourselves  to  making  the  ascent.  The  four  German 
gentlemen,  having  gained  the  top  before  us,  sent  down  some 
folk  who  gave  us  aid.  Thus  at  length  we  reached  our  lodging 
in  the  wilderness.  Here,  being  wet  to  the  skin,  tired  out, 
and  famished,  we  were  most  agreeably  entertained;  we  dried 


i84 


CELLINI 


ourselves,  took  rest,  and  satisfied  our  hunger,  while  certain 
wild  herbs  were  applied  to  the  wounded  horse.  They  pointed 
out  to  us  the  plant  in  question,  of  which  the  hedges  were  full; 
and  we  were  told  that  if  the  wound  was  kept  continually 
plugged  with  its  leaves,  the  beast  would  not  only  recover,  but 
would  serve  us  just  as  if  it  had  sustained  no  injury.  We  pro- 
ceeded to  do  as  they  advised.  Then  having  thanked  those 
gentlemen,  and  feeling  ourselves  entirely  refreshed,  we  quitted 
the  place,  and  travelled  onward,  thanking  God  for  saving  us 

from  such  great  perils. 

^  XCVII 

We  reached  a  town  beyond  Vessa,  where  we  passed  the 
night,  and  heard  a  watchman  through  all  the  hours  singing 
very  agreeably;  for  all  the  houses  of  that  city  being  built 
of  pine  wood,  it  was  the  watchman's  only  business  to  warn 
folk  against  fire.  Busbacca's  nerves  had  been  quite  shaken 
by  the  day's  adventures;  accordingly,  each  hour  when  the 
watchman  sang,  he  called  out  in  his  sleep:  "Ah  God,  I  am 
drowning!"  That  was  because  of  the  fright  he  had  had; 
and  besides,  he  had  got  drunk  in  the  evening,  because  he 
would  sit  boozing  with  all  the  Germans  who  were  there;  and 
sometimes  he  cried:  "  I  am  burning,"  and  sometimes:  "  I  am 
drowning;"  and  at  other  times  he  thought  he  was  in  hell, 
and  tortured  with  that  caviare  suspended  round  his  throat. 

This  night  was  so  amusing,  that  it  turned  all  our  troubles 
into  laughter.  In  the  morning  we  rose  with  very  fine  weather, 
and  went  to  dine  in  a  smiling  little  place  called  Lacca.  Here 
we  obtained  excellent  entertainment,  and  then  engaged  guides, 
who  were  returning  to  a  town  called  Surich.  The  guide  who 
attended  us  went  along  the  dyked  bank  of  a  lake;  there  was 
no  other  road;  and  the  dyke  itself  was  covered  with  water, 
so  that  the  reckless  fellow  slipped,  and  fell  together  with  his 
horse  beneath  the  water.  I,  who  was  but  a  few  steps  behind 
him,  stopped  my  horse,  and  waited  to  see  the  donkey  get  out 
of  the  water.  Just  as  if  nothing  had  happened,  he  began  to 
sing  again,  and  made  signs  to  me  to  follow.  I  broke  away 
upon  the  right  hand,  and  got  through  some  hedges,  making 
my  young  men  and  Busbacca  take  that  way.  The  guide 
shouted  in  German  that  if  the  folk  of  those  parts  saw  me  they 
would  put  mc  to  death.  However,  we  passed  forward,  and 
escaped  that  other  storm. 


MEMOIRS 


185 


So  we  arrived  at  Surich,  a  marvellous  city,  bright  and 
polished  like  a  little  gem.  There  we  rested  a  whole  day, 
then  left  betimes  one  morning,  and  reached  another  fair  city 
called  Solutorno.  Thence  we  came  to  Usanna,  from  Usanna 
to  Ginevra,  from  Ginevra  to  Lione,  always  singing  and  laugh- 
ing. At  Lione  I  rested  four  days,  and  had  much  pleasant 
intercourse  with  some  of  my  friends  there;  I  was  also  repaid 
what  I  had  spent  upon  Busbacca;  afterward  I  set  out  upon 
the  road  to  Paris.  This  was  a  delightful  journey,  except  that 
when  we  reached  Palissa  a  band  of  venturers  tried  to  murder 
us,  and  it  was  only  by  great  courage  and  address  that  we  got 
free  from  them.  From  that  point  onward  we  travelled  to 
Paris  without  the  least  trouble  in  the  world.  Always  singing 
and  laughing,  we  arrived  safely  at  our  destination. 

XCVIII 

After  taking  some  repose  in  Paris,  I  went  to  visit  the 
painter  Rosso,  who  was  in  the  King's  service.  I  thought  to 
find  in  him  one  of  the  sincerest  friends  I  had  in  the  world, 
seeing  that  in  Rome  I  had  done  him  the  greatest  benefits 
which  one  man  can  confer  upon  another.  As  these  may  be 
described  briefly,  I  will  not  here  omit  their  mention,  in  order 
to  expose  the  shamelessness  of  such  ingratitude.  While  he 
was  in  Rome,  then,  being  a  man  given  to  backbiting,  he 
spoke  so  ill  of  RafTaello  da  Urbino's  works,  that  the  pupils 
of  the  latter  were  quite  resolved  to  murder  him.  From  this 
peril  I  saved  him  by  keeping  a  close  watch  upon  him  day 
and  night.  Again,  the  evil  things  said  by  Rosso  against  San 
Gallo,^  that  excellent  architect,  caused  the  latter  to  get  work 
taken  from  him  which  he  had  previously  procured  for  him 
from  Messer  Agnolo  da  Cesi;  and  after  this  San  Gallo  used 
his  influence  so  strenuously  against  him  that  he  must  have 
been  brought  to  the  verge  of  starvation,  had  not  I  pitied  his 
condition  and  lent  him  some  scores  of  crowns  to  live  upon. 
So  then,  not  having  been  repaid,  and  knowing  that  he  held 
employment  under  the  King,  I  went,  as  I  have  said,  to  look 
him  up.  I  did  not  merely  expect  him  to  discharge  his  debt, 
but  also  to  show  me  favour  and  assist  in  placing  me  in  that 
great  monarch's  service. 

'  Antonio  da  San  Gallo,  one  of  the  best  architects  of   the  later  Re- 
naissance. 


l86  CELLINI 

When  Rosso  set  eyes  on  me,  his  countenance  changed 
suddenly,  and  he  exclaimed:  "  Benvenuto,  you  have  taken 
this  long  journey  at  great  charges  to  your  loss;  especially 
at  this  present  time,  when  all  men's  thoughts  are  occupied 
with  war,  and  not  with  the  bagatelles  of  our  profession."  I 
replied  that  I  had  brought  money  enough  to  take  me  back 
to  Rome  as  I  had  come  to  Paris,  and  that  this  was  not  the 
proper  return  for  the  pains  I  had  endured  for  him,  and  that 
now  I  began  to  believe  what  Maestro  Antonio  da  San  Gallo 
said  of  him.  When  he  tried  to  turn  the  matter  into  jest  on 
this  exposure  of  his  baseness,  I  showed  him  a  letter  of  ex- 
change for  five  hundred  crowns  upon  Ricciardo  del  Bene. 
Then  the  rascal  was  ashamed,  and  wanted  to  detain  me  almost 
by  force;  but  I  laughed  at  him,  and  took  my  leave  in  the 
company  of  a  painter  whom  I  found  there.  This  man  was 
called  Sguazzella:^  he  too  was  a  Florentine;  and  I  went  to 
lodge  in  his  house,  with  three  horses  and  three  servants,  at 
so  much  per  week.  He  treated  me  very  well,  and  was  even 
better  paid  by  me  in  return. 

Afterward  I  sought  audience  of  the  King,  through  the 
introduction  of  his  treasurer,  Messer  Giuliano  Buonaccorti. 
I  met,  however,  with  considerable  delays,  owing,  as  I  did 
not  then  know,  to  the  strenuous  exertions  Rosso  made  against 
my  admission  to  his  Majesty.  When  Messer  Giuliano  became 
aware  of  this,  he  took  me  down  at  once  to  Fontana  Bilio,^ 
and  brought  me  into  the  presence  of  the  King,  who  granted 
me  a  whole  hour  of  very  gracious  audience.  Since  he  was 
then  on  the  point  of  setting  out  for  Lyons,  he  told  Messer 
Giuliano  to  take  me  with  him,  adding  that  on  the  journey 
we  could  discuss  some  works  of  art  his  Majesty  had  it  in  his 
head  to  execute.  Accordingly,  I  followed  the  court;  and  on 
the  way  I  entered  into  close  relations  with  the  Cardinal  of 
Ferrara,  who  had  not  at  that  period  obtained  the  hat.^  Every 
evening  I  used  to  hold  long  conversations  with  the  Cardinal, 
in  the  course  of  which  his  lordship  advised  me  to  remain 

'  A  pupil  of  Andrea  del  Sarto.  who  went  with  him  to  France  and 
settled  there. 

'  Fontainebleau. 

'  Ippolito  d'Este,  son  of  Alfonso,  nuke  of  Ferrara;  Archbishop  of 
Milan  at  the  age  of  fifteen  ;  Cardinal  in  1539;  spent  a  large  part  of  his 
life  in  France, 


MEMOIRS  187 

at  an  abbey  of  his  in  Lyons,  and  there  to  abide  at  ease  until 
the  King  returned  from  this  campaign,  adding  that  he  was 
going  on  to  Grenoble,  and  that  1  should  enjoy  every  con- 
venience in  the  abbey. 

When  we  reached  Lyons  I  was  already  ill,  and  my  lad 
Ascanio  had  taken  a  quartan  fever.  The  French  and  their 
court  were  both  grown  irksome  to  me,  and  I  counted  the 
hours  till  I  could  find  myself  again  in  Rome.  On  seeing 
my  anxiety  to  return  home,  the  Cardinal  gave  me  money 
sufficient  for  making  him  a  silver  basin  and  jug.  So  we 
took  good  horses,  and  set  our  faces  in  the  direction  of  Rome, 
passing  the  Simplon,  and  travelling  for  some  while  in  the 
company  of  certain  Frenchmen;  Ascanio  troubled  by  his 
quartan,  and  I  by  a  slow  fever  which  I  found  it  quite  impos- 
sible to  throw  off.  I  had,  moreover,  got  my  stomach  out  of 
order  to  such  an  extent,  that  for  the  space  of  four  months, 
as  I  verily  believe,  I  hardly  ate  one  whole  loaf  of  bread  in 
the  week;  and  great  was  my  longing  to  reach  Italy,  being 
desirous  to  die  there  rather  than  in  France. 

XCIX 

When  we  had  crossed  the  mountains  of  the  Simplon,  we 
came  to  a  river  near  a  place  called  Indevedro.  It  was  broad 
and  very  deep,  spanned  by  a  long  narrow  bridge  without  ram- 
parts. That  morning  a  thick  white  frost  had  fallen;  and 
when  I  reached  the  bridge,  riding  before  the  rest,  I  recognised 
how  dangerous  it  was,  and  bade  my  servants  and  young  men 
dismount  and  lead  their  horses.  So  I  got  across  without  acci- 
dent, and  rode  on  talking  with  one  of  the  Frenchmen,  whose 
condition  was  that  of  a  gentleman.  The  other,  who  was  a 
scrivener,  lagged  a  little  way  behind,  jeering  the  French 
gentleman  and  me  because  we  had  been  so  frightened  by 
nothing  at  all  as  to  give  ourselves  the  trouble  of  walking. 
I  turned  round,  and  seeing  him  upon  the  middle  of  the  bridge, 
begged  him  to  come  gently,  since  the  place  was  very  danger- 
ous. The  fellow,  true  to  his  French  nature,  cried  out  in 
French  that  I  was  a  man  of  poor  spirit,  and  that  there  was 
no  danger  whatsoever.  While  he  spoke  these  words  and 
urged  his  horse  forward,  the  animal  suddenly  slipped  over 
the  bridge,  and  fell  with  legs  in  air  close  to  a  huge  rock  there 
was  there.     Now  God  is  very  often  merciful  to  madmen;  so 


l88  CELLINI 

the  two  beasts,  human  and  equine,  plunged  together  into  a 
deep  wide  pool,  where  both  of  them  went  down  below  the 
water.  On  seeing  what  had  happened,  I  set  off  running  at 
full  speed,  scrambled  with  much  difficulty  on  to  the  rock, 
and  angling  over  from  it,  seized  the  skirt  of  the  scrivener's 
gown  and  pulled  him  up,  for  he  was  still  submerged  beneath 
the  surface.  He  had  drunk  his  bellyful  of  water,  and  was 
within  an  ace  of  being  drowned.  I  then,  beholding  him  out 
of  danger,  congratulated  the  man  upon  my  having  been  the 
means  of  rescuing  his  life.  The  fellow  to  this  answered  me 
in  French,  that  1  had  done  nothing;  the  important  things  to 
save  were  his  writings,  worth  many  scores  of  crowns;  and 
these  words  he  seemed  to  say  in  anger,  dripping  wet  and 
sputtering  the  while.  Thereupon,  I  turned  round  to  our 
guides,  and  ordered  them  to  help  the  brute,  adding  that  I 
would  see  them  paid.  One  of  them  with  great  address  and 
trouble  set  himself  to  the  business,  and  picked  up  all  the 
fellow's  writings,  so  that  he  lost  not  one  of  them;  the  other 
guide  refused  to  trouble  himself  by  rendering  any  assistance. 
I  ought  here  to  say  that  we  had  made  a  purse  up,  and 
that  I  performed  the  part  of  paymaster.  So,  when  we  reached 
the  place  I  mentioned,  and  had  dined,  I  drew  some  coins 
from  the  common  purse  and  gave  them  to  the  guide  who 
helped  to  draw  him  from  the  water.  Thereupon  the  fellow 
called  out  that  I  might  pay  them  out  of  my  own  pocket;  he 
had  no  intention  of  giving  the  man  more  than  what  had  been 
agreed  on  for  his  services  as  guide.  Upon  this  I  retorted 
with  insulting  language.  Then  the  other  guide,  who  had 
done  nothing,  came  up  and  demanded  to  be  rewarded  also. 
I  told  him  that  the  one  who  had  borne  the  cross  deserved 
the  recompense.  He  cried  out  that  he  would  presently  show 
me  a  cross  which  should  make  me  repent.  I  replied  that  I 
would  light  a  candle  at  that  cross,  which  should,  I  hoped, 
make  him  to  be  the  first  to  weep  his  folly.  The  village  we 
were  in  lay  on  the  frontier  between  Venice  and  the  Germans. 
So  the  guide  ran  off  to  bring  the  folk  together,  and  came, 
followed  by  a  crowd,  with  a  boar-spear  in  his  hand.  Mounted 
on  my  good  steed,  I  lowered  the  barrel  of  my  arquebuse, 
and  turning  to  my  comrades,  cried:  "  At  the  first  shot  I  shall 
bring  that  fellow  down;  do  you  likewise  your  duty,  for  these 
are  highway  robbers,  who  have  used  this  little  incident  to 


MEMOIRS  189 

contrive  our  murder,"  The  innkeeper  at  whose  house  we  had 
dined  called  one  of  the  leaders,  an  imposing  old  man,  and 
begged  him  to  put  a  stop  to  the  disorder,  saying:  "This  is 
a  most  courageous  young  man;  you  may  cut  him  to  pieces, 
but  he  will  certainly  kill  a  lot  of  you,  and  perhaps  will  escape 
your  hands  after  doing  all  the  mischief  he  is  able."  So  mat- 
ters calmed  down:  and  the  old  man,  their  leader,  said  to 
me:  "  Go  in  peace;  you  would  not  have  much  to  boast  of 
against  us,  even  if  you  had  a  hundred  men  to  back  you." 
I  recognised  the  truth  of  his  words,  and  had  indeed  made 
up  my  mind  to  die  among  them;  therefore,  when  no  further 
insults  were  cast  at  me,  I  shook  my  head  and  exclaimed:  "  I 
should  certainly  have  done  my  utmost  to  prove  I  am  no 
statue,  but  a  man  of  flesh  and  spirit."  Then  we  resumed  our 
journey;  and  that  evening,  at  the  first  lodging  we  came  to, 
settled  our  accounts  together.  There  I  parted  for  ever  from 
that  beast  of  a  Frenchman,  remaining  on  very  friendly  terms 
with  the  other,  who  was  a  gentleman.  Afterward  I  reached 
Ferrara,  with  my  three  horses  and  no  other  company. 

Having  dismounted,  I  went  to  court  in  order  to  pay  my 
reverence  to  the  Duke,  and  gain  permission  to  depart  next 
morning  for  Loreto.  When  I  had  waited  until  two  hours 
after  nightfall,  his  Excellency  appeared.  I  kissed  his  hands; 
he  received  me  with  much  courtesy,  and  ordered  that  water 
should  be  brought  for  me  to  wash  my  hands  before  eating. 
To  this  compliment  I  made  a  pleasant  answer:  "  Most  ex- 
cellent lord,  it  is  now  more  than  four  months  that  I  have 
eaten  only  just  enough  to  keep  life  together;  knowing  there- 
fore that  I  could  not  enjoy  the  delicacies  of  your  royal  table, 
I  will  stay  and  talk  with  you  while  your  Excellency  is  sup- 
ping; in  this  way  we  shall  both  have  more  pleasure  than  if 
I  were  to  sup  with  you."  Accordingly,  we  entered  into  con- 
versation, and  prolonged  it  for  the  next  three  hours.  At 
that  time  I  took  my  leave,  and  when  I  got  back  to  the  inn, 
found  a  most  excellent  meal  ready ;  for  the  Duke  had  sent  me 
the  plates  from  his  own  banquet,  together  with  some  famous 
wine.  Having  now  fasted  two  full  hours  beyond  my  usual 
hour  for  supping,  I  fell  to  with  hearty  appetite;  and  this  was 
the  first  time  since  four  months  that  I  felt  the  power  or  will 
to  eat. 


190 


CELLINI 


C 

Leaving  Ferrara  in  the  morning,  I  went  to  Santa  Maria 
at  Loreto;  and  thence,  having  performed  my  devotions,  pur- 
sued the  journey  to  Rome.  There  I  found  my  most  faithful 
FeHce,  to  whom  I  abandoned  my  old  shop  with  all  its  furni- 
ture and  appurtenances,  and  opened  another,  much  larger  and 
roomier,  next  to  Sughcrello,  the  perfumer.  I  thought  for  cer- 
tain that  the  great  King  Francis  would  not  have  remembered 
me.  Therefore  I  accepted  commissions  from  several  noble- 
men; and  in  the  meanwhile  began  the  basin  and  jug  ordered 
by  the  Cardinal  of  Ferrara.  I  had  a  crowd  of  workmen,  and 
many  large  afifairs  on  hand  in  gold  and  silver. 

Now  the  arrangement  I  had  made  with  that  Perugian 
workman  was  that  he  should  write  down  all  the  monies  which 
had  been  disbursed  on  his  account,  chiefly  for  clothes  and 
divers  other  sundries;  and  these,  together  with  the  costs  of 
travelling,  amounted  to  about  seventy  crowns.  We  agreed 
that  he  should  discharge  the  debt  by  monthly  payments  of 
three  crowns;  and  this  he  was  well  able  to  do,  since  he  gained 
more  than  eight  through  me.  At  the  end  of  two  months 
the  rascal  decamped  from  my  shop,  leaving  me  in  the  lurch 
with  a  mass  of  business  on  my  hands,  and  saying  that  he  did 
not  mean  to  pay  me  a  farthing  more.  I  was  resolved  to  seek 
redress,  but  allowed  myself  to  be  persuaded  to  do  so  by  the 
way  of  justice.  At  first  I  thought  of  lopping  ofT  an  arm  of 
his;  and  assuredly  I  should  have  done  so,  if  my  friends  had 
not  told  me  that  it  was  a  mistake,  seeing  I  should  lose  my 
money  and  perhaps  Rome  too  a  second  time,  forasmuch  as 
blows  can  not  be  measured,  and  that  with  the  agreement  I 
held  of  his  I  could  at  any  moment  have  him  taken  up.  I 
listened  to  their  advice,  though  I  should  have  liked  to  conduct 
the  afifair  more  freely.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  I  sued  him  before 
the  auditor  of  the  Camera,  and  gained  my  suit;  in  conse- 
quence of  that  decree,  for  which  I  waited  several  months,  I 
had  him  thrown  into  prison.  At  the  same  time  I  was  over- 
whelmed with  large  commissions;  among  others,  I  had  to 
supply  all  the  ornaments  of  gold  and  jewels  for  the  wife  of 
Signor  Girolamo  Orsino,  father  of  Signor  Paolo,  who  is  now 
the  son-in-law  of  our  Duke   Cosimo.^     These  things  I   had 

'  He  was  Duke  of  Bracciano,  father  of  Duke  Paolo,  who  married  Isa- 
bella de'  Medici,  and  murdered  her  before  his  second  marriage  with  Vit- 
toria  Accoramboni. 


MEMOIRS  191 

nearly  finished;  yet  others  of  the  greatest  consequence  were 

always  coming  in.    I  employed  eight  work-people,  and  worked 

day  and  night  together  with  them,  for  the  sake  alike  of  honour 

and  of  gain. 

CI 

While  I  was  engaged  in  prosecuting  my  affairs  with  so 
much  vigour,  there  arrived  a  letter  sent  post-haste  to  me  by 
the  Cardinal  of  Ferrara,  which  ran  as  follows: 

"  Benvenuto,  our  Dear  Friend:  During  these  last  days 
the  most  Christian  King  here  made  mention  of  you,  and  said 
that  he  should  like  to  have  you  in  his  service.  Whereto  I 
answered  that  you  had  promised  me,  whenever  I  sent  for  you 
to  serve  his  Majesty,  that  you  would  come  at  once.  His 
Majesty  then  answered:  '  It  is  my  will  that  provision  for  his 
journey,  according  to  his  merits,  should  be  sent  him;'  and 
immediately  ordered  his  Admiral  to  make  me  out  an  order  for 
one  thousand  golden  crowns  upon  the  treasurer  of  the  Ex- 
chequer. The  Cardinal  de'  Gaddi,  who  was  present  at  this 
conversation,  advanced  immediately,  and  told  his  Majesty  that 
it  was  not  necessary  to  make  these  dispositions,  seeing  that 
he  had  sent  you  money  enough,  and  that  you  were  already 
on  the  journey.  If  then,  as  I  think  probable,  the  facts  are 
quite  contrary  to  those  assertions  of  Cardinal  Gaddi,  reply 
to  me  without  delay  upon  the  receipt  of  this  letter;  for  I  will 
undertake  to  gather  up  the  fallen  thread,  and  have  the  prom- 
ised money  given  you  by  this  magnanimous  King." 

Now  let  the  world  take  notice,  and  all  the  folk  that  dwell 
on  it,  what  power  malignant  stars  with  adverse  fortune  exer- 
cise upon  us  human  beings!  I  had  not  spoken  twice  in  my 
lifetime  to  that  little  simpleton  of  a  Cardinal  de'  Gaddi;  nor 
do  I  think  that  he  meant  by  this  bumptiousness  of  his  to  do 
me  any  harm,  but  only,  through  light-headedness  and  sense- 
less folly,  to  make  it  seem  as  though  he  also  held  the  affairs 
of  artists,  whom  the  King  was  wanting,  under  his  own  per- 
sonal supervision,  just  as  the  Cardinal  of  Ferrara  did.  But 
afterward  he  was  so  stupid  as  not  to  tell  me  anything  at  all 
about  the  matter;  elsewise,  it  is  certain  that  my  wish  to  shield 
a  sillv  mannikin  from  reproach,  if  only  for  our  country's  sake, 
would  have  made  me  find  out  some  excuse  to  mend  the  bung- 
ling of  his  foolish  self-conceit. 


192 


CELLINI 


Immediately  upon  the  receipt  of  Cardinal  Ferrara's  letter, 
I  answered  that  about  Cardinal  de'  Gaddi  1  knew  absolutely 
nothing,  and  that  even  if  he  had  made  overtures  of  that  kind 
to  me,  I  should  not  have  left  Italy  without  informing  his  most 
reverend  lordship.  I  also  said  that  I  had  more  to  do  in  Rome 
than  at  any  previous  time;  but  that  if  his  most  Christian 
Majesty  made  sign  of  wanting  me,  one  word  of  his,  com- 
municated by  so  great  a  prince  as  his  most  reverend  lordship, 
would  suffice  to  make  me  set  off  upon  the  spot,  leaving  all 
other  concerns  to  take  their  chance. 

After  I  had  sent  my  letter,  that  traitor,  the  Perugian  work- 
man, devised  a  piece  of  malice  against  me,  which  succeeded 
at  once,  owing  to  the  avarice  of  Pope  Paolo  da  Farnese,  but 
also  far  more  to  that  of  his  son,  who  was  then  called  Duke 
of  Castro.  The  fellow  in  question  informed  one  of  Signor 
Pier  Luigi's  secretaries  that,  having  been  with  me  as  work- 
man several  years,  he  was  acquainted  with  all  my  affairs,  on 
the  strength  of  which  he  gave  his  word  to  Signor  Pier  Luigi 
that  I  was  worth  more  than  eighty  thousand  ducats,  and 
that  the  greater  part  of  this  property  consisted  in  jewels, 
which  jewels  belonged  to  the  Church,  and  that  I  had  stolen 
them  in  Castel  Sant'  Agnolo  during  the  sack  of  Rome, 
and  that  all  they  had  to  do  was  to  catch  me  on  the  spot  with 
secrecy. 

It  so  happened  that  I  had  been  at  work  one  morning, 
more  than  three  hours  before  daybreak,  upon  the  trousseau 
of  the  bride  I  mentioned;  then,  while  my  shop  was  being 
opened  and  swept  out,  I  put  my  cape  on  to  go  abroad  and 
take  the  air.  Directing  my  steps  along  the  Strada  Giulia,  I 
turned  into  Chiavica,  and  at  this  corner  Crespino,  the  Bargello, 
with  all  his  constables,  made  up  to  me,  and  said:  "You  are 
the  Pope's  prisoner."  I  answered:  "  Crespino,  you  have  mis- 
taken your  man."  "  No,"  said  Crespino,  "  you  are  the  artist 
Benvenuto,  and  I  know  you  well,  and  I  have  to  take  you 
to  the  Castle  of  Sant'  Angelo,  where  lords  go,  and  men  of 
accomplishments,  your  peers."  Upon  that  four  of  his  under- 
officers  rushed  on  me,  and  would  have  seized  by  force  a  dagger 
which  I  wore,  and  some  rings  I  carried  on  my  finger;  but 
Crespino  rebuked  them :  "  Not  a  man  of  you  shall  touch 
him:  it  is  quite  enough  if  you  perform  your  duty,  and  see 
that*  he  does  not  escape  me."    Then  he  came  up,  and  begged 


MEMOIRS 


193 


me  with  words  of  courtesy  to  surrender  my  arms.  While 
I  was  engaged  in  doing  this,  it  crossed  my  mind  that  exactly 
on  that  very  spot  I  had  assassinated  Pompeo.  They  took 
me  straightway  to  the  castle,  and  locked  me  in  an  upper 
chamber  in  the  keep.  This  was  the  first  time  that  I  ever  smelt 
a  prison  up  to  the  age  I  then  had  of  thirty-seven  years. 

CII 

Signor  Pier  Luigi,  the  Pope's  son,  had  well  considered 
the  large  sum  for  which  I  stood  accused;  so  he  begged  the 
reversion  of  it  from  his  most  holy  father,  and  asked  that  he 
might  have  the  money  made  out  to  himself.  The  Pope 
granted  this  willingly,  adding  that  he  would  assist  in  its  re- 
covery. Consequently,  after  having  kept  me  eight  whole 
days  in  prison,  they  sent  me  up  for  examination,  in  order  to 
put  an  end  if  possible  to  the  aflfair.  I  was  summoned  into 
one  of  the  great  halls  of  the  papal  castle,  a  place  of  much 
dignity.  My  examiners  were,  first,  the  Governor  of  Rome, 
called  Messer  Benedetto  Conversini  of  Pistoja,  who  after- 
ward became  Bishop  of  Jesi;  secondly,  the  Procurator-Fiscal, 
whose  name  I  have  forgotten;  and,  thirdly,  the  judge  in  crim- 
inal cases,  Messer  Benedetto  da  Cagli.  These  three  men 
began  at  first  to  question  me  in  gentle  terms,  which  afterward 
they  changed  to  words  of  considerable  harshness  and  menace, 
apparently  because  I  said  to  them:  "  My  lords,  it  is  more 
than  half-an-hour  now  since  you  have  been  pestering  me 
with  questions  about  fables  and  such  things,  so  that  one  may 
truly  say  you  are  chattering  or  prattling;  by  chattering  I 
mean  talking  without  reason,  by  prattling  I  mean  talking  non- 
sense: therefore  I  beg  you  to  tell  me  what  it  really  is  you 
want  of  me,  and  to  let  me  hear  from  your  lips  reasonable 
speech,  and  not  jabberings  or  nonsense."  In  reply  to  these 
words  of  mine,  the  Governor,  who  was  a  Pistojan,  could  no 
longer  disguise  his  furious  temper,  and  began:  "You  talk 
very  confidently,  or  rather  far  too  arrogantly;  but  let  me  tell 
you  that  I  will  bring  your  pride  down  lower  than  a  spaniel 
by  the  words  of  reason  you  shall  hear  from  me;  these  will  be 
neither  jabberings  nor  nonsense,  as  you  have  it,  but  shall 
form  a  chain  of  arguments  to  answer  which  you  will  be  forced 
to  tax  the  utmost  of  your  wits."  Then  he  began  to  speak  ^s 
follows :  "  We  know  for  certain  that  you  were  in  Rome  at 
13 


194  CELLINI 

the  time  when  this  unhappy  city  was  subject  to  the  calamity 
of  the  sack;  at  that  time  you  were  in  this  Castle  of  Sant' 
Angelo,  and  were  employed  as  bombardier.  Now  since  you 
are  a  jeweller  and  goldsmith  by  trade,  Pope  Clement,  being 
previously  acquainted  with  you,  and  having  by  him  no  one 
else  of  your  profession,  called  you  into  his  secret  counsels, 
and  made  you  unset  all  the  jewels  of  his  tiaras,  mitres,  and 
rings;  afterward,  having  confidence  in  you,  he  ordered  you 
to  sew  them  into  his  clothes.  While  thus  engaged,  you  se- 
questered, unknown  to  his  Holiness,  a  portion  of  them,  to 
the  value  of  eighty  thousand  crowns.  This  has  been  told 
us  by  one  of  your  workmen,  to  whom  you  disclosed  the  matter 
in  your  braggadocio  way.  Now,  we  tell  you  frankly  that  you 
must  find  the  jewels,  or  their  value  in  money:  after  that  we 
will  release  you." 

cm 

When  I  heard  these  words,  I  could  not  hold  from  burst- 
ing into  a  great  roar  of  laughter;  then,  having  laughed  a 
while,  I  said:  "Thanks  be  to  God  that  on  this  first  occa- 
sion, when  it  has  pleased  His  Divine  Majesty  to  imprison 
me,  I  should  not  be  imprisoned  for  some  folly,  as  the  wont 
is  usually  wnth  young  men.  If  what  you  say  were  the  truth, 
I  run  no  risk  of  having  to  submit  to  corporal  punishment, 
since  the  authority  of  the  law  was  suspended  during  that 
season.  Indeed,  I  could  excuse  myself  by  saying  that,  like 
a  faithful  servant,  I  had  kept  back  treasure  to  that  amount 
for  the  sacred  and  holy  Apostolic  Church,  waiting  till  I  could 
restore  it  to  a  good  Pope,  or  else  to  those  who  might  require 
it  of  me;  as,  for  instance,  you  might,  if  this  were  verily  the 
case."  When  I  had  spoken  so  far,  the  furious  Governor 
would  not  let  me  conclude  my  argument,  but  exclaimed  in 
a  burst  of  rage:  "  Interpret  the  aflfair  as  you  like  best,  Ben- 
vcnuto;  it  is  enough  for  us  to  have  found  the  property  which 
we  had  lost;  be  quick  about  it,  if  you  do  not  want  us  to  use 
other  measures  than  words."  Then  they  began  to  rise  and 
leave  the  chamber;  but  I  stopped  them,  crying  out:  "  My 
lords,  my  examination  is  not  over;  bring  that  to  an  end, 
and  go  then  where  you  choose."  They  resumed  their  seats 
in  a  very  angry  temper,  making  as  though  they  did  not  mean 
to  listen  to  a  word  I  said,  and  at  the  same  time  half  relieved, 
as  though  they  had  discovered  all  they  wanted  to  know.     I 


MEMOIRS  195 

then  began  my  speech,  to  this  effect:  "  You  are  to  know,  my 
lords,  that  it  is  now  some  twenty  years  since  I  first  came  to 
Rome,  and  I  have  never  been  sent  to  prison  here  or  else- 
where."    On  this  that  catchpoll  of  a   Governor  called  out: 
"And  yet  you  have   killed  men   enough  here!"      I   replied: 
"It  is  you  that  say  it,  and  not  1;  but  if  some  one  came  to 
kill  you,  priest  as  you  are,  you  would  defend  yourself,  and 
if  you  killed  him,  the  sanctity  of  law  would  hold  you  justi- 
fied.    Therefore  let  me  continue  my  defence,  if  you  wish  to 
report  the  case  to  the  Pope,  and  to  judge  me  fairly.     Once 
more  I  tell  you  that  I  have  been  a  sojourner  in  this  marvel- 
lous city  Rome  for  nigh  on  twenty  years,  and  here  I  have 
exercised  my  art  in   matters  of  vast  importance.     Knowing 
that  this  is  the  seat  of  Christ,  I   entertained  the  reasonable 
belief  that  when  some  temporal  prince  sought  to  inflict  on 
me  a  mortal  injury,  I  might  have  recourse  to  this  holy  chair 
and  to  this  Vicar  of  Christ,  in  confidence  that  he  would  surely 
uphold  my  cause.     Ah  me!  whither  am  I  now  to  go?    What 
prince  is  there  who  will  protect  me  from  this  infamous  assas- 
sination?   Was  it  not  your  business,  before  you  took  me  up, 
to  find  out  what  I  had  done  with  those  eighty  thousand  ducats? 
Was  it  not  your  duty  to  inspect  the   record  of  the  jewels, 
which  have  been  carefully  inscribed  by  this  Apostolic  Camera 
through  the  last  five  hundred  years?     If  you  had  discovered 
anything  missing  on  that  record,  then  you  ought  to  have  seized 
all  my  books  together  with  myself.     I  tell  you  for  a  certainty 
that  the  registers,  on  which  are  written  all  the  jewels  of  the 
Pope  and  the  regalia,  must  be  perfectly  in  order;  you  will 
not  find  there  missing  a  single  article  of  value  w^hich  belonged 
to  Pope  Clement  that  has  not  been  minutely  noted.    The  one 
thing  of  the   kind  which   occurs  to   me   is  this:  When   that 
poor  man  Pope  Clement  wanted  to  make  terms  with  those 
thieves  of  the  Imperial  army,  who  had  robbed  Rome  and  in- 
sulted the  Church,  a  certain   Cesare   Iscatinaro,   if  I   rightly 
remember  his  name,  came  to  negotiate  with  him;  and  having 
nearly  concluded  the  agreement,  the  Pope  in  his  extremity, 
to  show  the  man  some  mark  of  favour,  let  fall   a  diamond 
from  his  finger,  which  was  worth  about  four  thousand  crowns, 
and  when   Iscatinaro   stooped   to  pick  it  up,  the   Pope   told 
him  to  keep  it  for  his  sake.     I  was  present  at  these  trans- 
actions: and  if  the  diamond  of  which   I  speak  be  missing, 


196  CELLINI 

I  have  told  you  where  it  went;  but  I  have  the  firmest  con- 
viction that  you  will  find  even  this  noted  upon  the  register. 
After  this  you  may  blush  at  your  leisure  for  having  done  such 
cruel  injustice  to  a  man  like  me,  who  has  performed  so  many 
honourable  services  for  the  apostolic  chair.  I  would  have 
you  to  know  that,  but  for  me,  the  morning  when  the  Imperial 
troops  entered  the  Borgo,  they  would  without  let  or  hindrance 
have  forced  their  way  into  the  castle.  It  was  I  who,  unre- 
warded for  this  act,  betook  myself  with  vigour  to  the  guns 
which  had  been  abandoned  by  the  cannoneers  and  soldiers 
of  the  ordnance.  I  put  spirit  into  my  comrade  Raffaello  da 
Montelupo,  the  sculptor,  who  had  also  left  his  post  and  hid 
himself  all  frightened  in  a  corner,  without  stirring  foot  or 
finger;  I  woke  his  courage  up,  and  he  and  I  alone  together 
slew  so  many  of  the  enemies  that  the  soldiers  took  another 
road.  I  it  was  who  shot  Iscatinaro  when  I  saw  him  talking 
to  Pope  Clement  without  the  slightest  mark  of  reverence, 
nay,  with  the  most  revolting  insolence,  like  the  Lutheran  and 
infidel  he  was.  Pope  Clement  upon  this  had  the  castle 
searched  to  find  and  hang  the  man  who  did  it.  I  it  was  who 
wounded  the  Prince  of  Orange  in  the  head  down  there  below 
the  trenches  of  the  castle.  Then,  too,  how  many  ornaments 
of  silver,  gold,  and  jewels,  how  many  models  and  coins,  so 
beautiful  and  so  esteemed,  have  I  not  made  for  Holy  Church! 
Is  this  then  the  presumptuous  priestly  recompense  you  give 
a  man  who  has  served  and  loved  you  with  such  loyalty,  with 
such  mastery  of  art?  Oh,  go  and  report  the  whole  that  I 
have  spoken  to  the  Pope;  go  and  tell  him  that  his  jewels  are 
all  in  his  possession;  that  I  never  received  from  the  Church 
anything  but  wounds  and  stonings  at  that  epoch  of  the  sack; 
that  I  never  reckoned  upon  any  gain  beyond  some  small 
remuneration  from  Pope  Paolo,  which  he  had  promised  me. 
Now  at  last  I  know  what  to  think  of  his  Holiness  and  you 
his  Ministers." 

While  I  was  delivering  this  speech,  they  sat  and  listened 
in  astonishment.  Then  exchanging  glances  one  with  the 
other,  and  making  signs  of  much  surprise,  they  left  me.  All 
three  went  together  to  report  what  I  had  spoken  to  the  Pope. 
The  Pope  felt  some  shame,  and  gave  orders  that  all  the  records 
of  the  jewels  should  be  diligently  searched.  When  they  had 
ascertained  that  none  were  missing,  they  left  me  in  the  castle 


MEMOIRS 


197 


without  saying  a  word  more  about  it.    Signor  Pier  Luigi  felt 

also  that  he  had  acted  ill;  and  to  end  the  affair,  they  set  about 

to  contrive  my  death. 

CIV 

During  the  agitations  of  this  time  which  I  have  just  re- 
lated, King  Francis  received  news  of  how  the  Pope  was  keep- 
ing me  in  prison,  and  with  what  injustice.  He  had  sent  a 
certain  gentleman  of  his,  named  Monsignor  di  Morluc,  as  his 
ambassador  to  Rome;  ^  to  him  therefore  he  now  wrote,  claim- 
ing me  from  the  Pope  as  the  man  of  his  Majesty.  The  Pope 
was  a  person  of  extraordinary  sense  and  ability,  but  in  this 
aflfair  of  mine  he  behaved  weakly  and  unintelligently ;  for  he 
made  answer  to  the  King's  envoy  that  his  Majesty  need  pay 
me  no  attention,  since  I  was  a  fellow  who  gave  much  trouble 
by  fighting;  therefore  he  advised  his  Majesty  to  leave  me 
alone,  adding  that  he  kept  me  in  prison  for  homicides  and 
other  devilries  which  I  had  played.  To  this  the  King  sent 
answer  that  justice  in  his  realm  was  excellently  maintained; 
for  even  as  his  Majesty  was  wont  to  shower  rewards  and 
favours  upon  men  of  parts  and  virtue,  so  did  he  ever  chastise 
the  troublesome.  His  Holiness  had  let  me  go,  not  caring 
for  the  service  of  the  said  Benvenuto,  and  the  King,  when  he 
saw  him  in  his  realm,  most  willingly  adopted  him;  therefore 
he  now  asked  for  him  in  the  quality  of  his  own  man.  Such 
a  demand  was  certainly  one  of  the  most  honourable  marks 
of  favour  which  a  man  of  my  sort  could  desire;  yet  it  proved 
the  source  of  infinite  annoyance  and  hurt  to  me.  The  Pope 
was  roused  to  such  fury  by  the  jealous  fear  he  had  lest  I 
should  go  and  tell  the  whole  world  how  infamously  I  had 
been  treated,  that  he  kept  revolving  ways  in  which  I  might 
be  put  to  death  without  injury  to  his  own  credit. 

The  castellan  of  Sant'  Angelo  was  one  of  our  Florentines, 
called  Messer  Giorgio,  a  knight  of  the  Ugolini  family.  This 
worthy  man  showed  me  the  greatest  courtesy,  and  let  me  go 
free  about  the  castle  on  parole.  He  was  well  aware  how 
greatly  I  had  been  wronged;  and  when  T  wanted  to  give  secu- 
rity for  leave  to  walk  about  the  castle,  he  replied  that  though 

'  Jean  de  Montluc,  brother  of  the  celebrated  Marshal,  Bishop  of  Va- 
lence, a  friend  of  Margaret  of  Navarre,  and,  like  her,  a  protector  of  the 
Huguenots.  He  negotiated  the  election  of  the  Duke  of  Anjou  to  the 
throne  of  Poland. 


198 


CELLINI 


he  could  not  take  that,  seeing  the  Pope  set  too  much  impor- 
tance upon  my  affair,  yet  he  would  frankly  trust  my  word, 
because  he  was  informed  by  every  one  what  a  worthy  man 
I  was.  So  I  passed  my  parole,  and  he  granted  me  conven- 
iences for  working  at  my  trade.  I  then,  reflecting  that  the 
Pope's  anger  against  me  must  subside,  as  well  because  of  my 
innocence  as  because  of  the  favour  shown  me  by  the  King, 
kept  my  shop  in  Rome  open,  while  Ascanio,  my  prentice, 
came  to  the  castle  and  brought  me  things  to  work  at.  I  could 
not  indeed  do  much,  feeling  myself  imprisoned  so  unjustly; 
yet  I  made  a  virtue  of  necessity,  and  bore  my  adverse  fortune 
with  as  light  a  heart  as  I  was  able. 

I  had  secured  the  attachment  of  all  the  guards  and  many 
soldiers  of  the  castle.  Now  the  Pope  used  to  come  at  times 
to  sup  there,  and  on  those  occasions  no  watch  was  kept,  but 
the  place  stood  open  like  an  ordinary  palace.  Consequently, 
while  the  Pope  was  there,  the  prisoners  used  to  be  shut  up 
with  great  precautions;  none  such,  however,  were  taken  with 
me,  who  had  the  license  to  go  where  I  liked,  even  at  those 
times,  about  its  precincts.  Often  then  those  soldiers  told  me 
that  I  ought  to  escape,  and  that  they  would  aid  and  abet  me, 
knowing  as  they  did  how  greatly  I  had  been  wronged.  I 
answered  that  I  had  given  my  parole  to  the  castellan,  who 
was  such  a  worthy  man,  and  had  done  me  such  kind  offices. 
One  very  brave  and  clever  soldier  used  to  say  to  me:  "  My 
Benvenuto,  you  must  know  that  a  prisoner  is  not  obliged, 
and  can  not  be  obliged,  to  keep  faith,  any  more  than  aught 
else  which  befits  a  free  man.  Do  what  I  tell  you;  escape  from 
that  rascal  of  a  Pope  and  his  son,  for  both  are  bent  on  having 
your  life  by  villainy."  I  had,  however,  made  my  mind  up 
rather  to  lose  my  life  than  to  break  the  promise  I  had  given 
that  good  man  the  castellan.  So  I  bore  the  extreme  discom- 
forts of  my  situation,  and  had  for  companion  of  misery  a  friar 
of  the  Palavisina  house,  who  was  a  very  famous  preacher. 

CV 

This  man  had  been  arrested  as  a  Lutheran.  He  was  an 
excellent  companion;  but,  from  the  point  of  view  of  his  reli- 
gion, T  found  him  the  biggest  scoundrel  in  the  world,  to  whom 
all  kinds  of  vices  were  acceptable.  His  fine  intellectual  quali- 
ties won   my   admiration;  but   I   hated   his   dirty   vices,   and 


MEMOIRS 


199 


frankly  taxed  him  with  them.  This  friar  kept  perpetually 
reminding  me  that  I  was  in  no  wise  bound  to  observe  faith 
with  the  castellan,  since  I  had  become  a  prisoner.  I  replied 
to  these  arguments  that  he  might  be  speaking  the  truth  as  a 
friar,  but  that  as  a  man  he  spoke  the  contrary;  for  every 
one  who  called  himself  a  man,  and  not  a  monk,  was  bound 
to  keep  his  word  under  all  circumstances  in  which  he  chanced 
to  be.  I  therefore,  being  a  man,  and  not  a  monk,  was  not 
going  to  break  the  simple  and  loyal  word  which  I  had  given. 
Seeing  then  that  he  could  not  sap  my  honour  by  the  subtle 
and  ingenious  sophistries  he  so  eloquently  developed,  the 
friar  hit  upon  another  way  of  tempting  me.  He  allowed  some 
days  to  pass,  during  which  he  read  me  the  sermons  of  Fra 
Girolamo  Savonarola;  and  these  he  expounded  with  such  lu- 
cidity and  learning  that  his  comment  was  even  finer  than  the 
text.  I  remained  in  ecstasies  of  admiration;  and  there  was 
nothing  in  the  world  I  would  not  have  done  for  him,  except, 
as  I  have  said,  to  break  my  promised  word.  When  he  saw 
the  effect  his  talents  had  produced  upon  my  mind,  he  thought 
of  yet  another  method.  Cautiously  he  began  to  ask  what 
means  I  should  have  taken,  supposing  my  jailors  had  locked 
me  up,  in  order  to  set  the  dungeon  doors  open  and  efifect 
my  flight.  I  then,  who  wanted  to  display  the  sharpness  of 
my  own  wits  to  so  ingenious  a  man,  replied  that  I  was  quite 
sure  of  being  able  to  open  the  most  baffling  locks  and  bars, 
far  more  those  of  our  prison,  to  do  which  would  be  the  same 
to  me  as  eating  a  bit  of  new  cheese.  In  order  then  to  gain 
my  secret,  the  friar  now  made  light  of  these  assertions,  aver- 
ring that  persons  who  have  gained  some  credit  by  their  abili- 
ties, are  wont  to  talk  big  of  things  which,  if  they  had  to  put 
their  boasts  in  action,  would  speedily  discredit  them,  and 
much  to  their  dishonour.  Himself  had  heard  me  speak  so 
far  from  the  truth,  that  he  was  inclined  to  think  I  should,  when 
pushed  to  proof,  end  in  a  dishonourable  failure.  Upon  this, 
feeling  myself  stung  to  the  quick  by  that  devil  of  a  friar,  I 
responded  that  I  always  made  a  practice  of  promising  in  words 
less  than  I  could  perform  in  deeds;  what  I  had  said  about 
the  keys  was  the  merest  trifle;  in  a  few  words  I  could  make 
him  understand  that  the  matter  was  as  I  had  told  it;  then, 
all  too  heedlessly,  I  demonstrated  the  facility  with  which  my 
assertions  could  be  carried  into  act.     He  affected  to  pay  little 


20O  CELLINI 

attention;  but  all  the  same  he  learned  my  lesson  well  by  heart 
with  keen  intelligence. 

As  I  have  said  above,  the  worthy  castellan  let  me  roam 
at  pleasure  over  the  whole  fortress.  Not  even  at  night  did 
he  lock  me  in,  as  was  the  custom  with  the  other  prisoners. 
Moreover,  he  allowed  me  to  employ  myself  as  I  liked  best, 
with  gold  or  silver  or  with  wax  according  to  my  whim.  So 
then  I  laboured  several  weeks  at  the  basin  ordered  by  Cardinal 
Ferrara,  but  the  irksomeness  of  my  imprisonment  bred  in  me 
a  disgust  for  such  employment,  and  I  took  to  modelling  in 
wax  some  little  figures  of  my  fancy,  for  mere  recreation.  Of 
the  wax  which  I  used,  the  friar  stole  a  piece;  and  with  this 
he  proceeded  to  get  false  keys  made,  upon  the  method  I 
had  heedlessly  revealed  to  him.  He  had  chosen  for  his  ac- 
complice a  registrar  named  Luigi,  a  Paduan,  who  was  in 
the  castellan's  service.  When  the  keys  were  ordered,  the 
locksmith  revealed  their  plot;  and  the  castellan,  who  came  at 
times  to  see  me  in  my  chamber,  noticing  the  wax  which  I 
was  using,  recognised  it  at  once  and  exclaimed:  "It  is  true 
that  this  poor  fellow  Benvenuto  has  suffered  a  most  grievous 
wrong;  yet  he  ought  not  to  have  dealt  thus  with  me,  for  I 
have  ever  strained  my  sense  of  right  to  show  him  kindness. 
Now  I  shall  keep  him  straitly  under  lock  and  key,  and  shall 
take  good  care  to  do  him  no  more  service."  Accordingly, 
he  had  me  shut  up  with  disagreeable  circumstances,  among 
the  worst  of  which  were  the  words  flung  at  me  by  some  of 
his  devoted  servants,  who  were  indeed  extremely  fond  of 
me,  but  now,  on  this  occasion,  cast  in  my  teeth  all  the  kind 
oflfices  the  castellan  had  done  me;  they  came,  in  fact,  to  call- 
ing me  ungrateful,  light,  and  disloyal.  One  of  them  in  par- 
ticular used  those  injurious  terms  more  insolently  than  was 
decent;  whereupon  I,  being  convinced  of  my  innocence,  re- 
torted hotly  that  I  had  never  broken  faith,  and  would  main- 
tain these  words  at  the  peril  of  my  life,  and  that  if  he  or  any 
of  his  fellows  abused  me  so  unjustly,  I  would  fling  the  lie 
back  in  his  throat.  The  man,  intolerant  of  my  rebuke,  rushed 
to  the  castellan's  room,  and  brought  me  the  wax  with  the 
model  of  the  keys.  No  sooner  had  I  seen  the  wax  than  I 
told  him  that  both  he  and  I  were  in  the  right;  but  I  begged 
him  to  procure  for  me  an  audience  with  the  castellan,  for  I 
meant  to  explain  frankly  how  the  matter  stood,  which  was 


MEMOIRS  20I 

of  far  more  consequence  than  they  imagined.  The  castellan 
sent  for  me  at  once,  and  I  told  him  the  whole  course  of 
events.  This  made  him  arrest  the  friar,  who  betrayed  the 
registrar,  and  the  latter  ran  a  risk  of  being  hanged.  How- 
ever, the  castellan  hushed  the  affair  up,  although  it  had 
reached  the  Pope's  ears;  he  saved  his  registrar  from  the  gal- 
lows, and  gave  me  the  same  freedom  as  I  had  before. 

CVI 

When  I  saw  how  rigorously  this  aflfair  was  prosecuted,  I 
began  to  think  of  my  own  concerns,  and  said:  "Supposing 
another  of  these  storms  should  rise,  and  the  man  should  lose 
confidence  in  me,  I  should  then  be  under  no  obligation  to  him, 
and  might  wish  to  use  my  wits  a  little,  which  would  certainly 
work  their  end  better  than  those  of  that  rascally  friar."  So 
I  began  to  have  new  sheets  of  a  coarse  fabric  brought  me, 
and  did  not  send  the  dirty  ones  away.  When  my  servants 
asked  for  them,  I  bade  them  hold  their  tongues,  saying  I 
had  given  the  sheets  to  some  of  those  poor  soldiers;  and  if 
the  matter  came  to  knowledge,  the  wretched  fellows  ran  risk 
of  the  galleys.  This  made  my  young  men  and  attendants, 
especially  Felice,  keep  the  secret  of  the  sheets  in  all  loyalty. 
I  meanwhile  set  myself  to  emptying  a  straw  mattress,  the 
stuffing  of  which  I  burned,  having  a  chimney  in  my  prison. 
Out  of  the  sheets  I  cut  strips,  the  third  of  a  cubit  in  breadth; 
and  when  I  had  made  enough  in  my  opinion  to  clear  the 
great  height  of  the  central  keep  of  Sant'  Agnolo,  I  told  my 
servants  that  I  had  given  away  what  I  wanted;  they  must 
now  bring  me  others  of  a  finer  fabric,  and  I  would  always  send 
back  the  dirty  ones.     This  affair  was  presently  forgotten. 

Now  my  workpeople  and  serving-men  were  obliged  to 
close  my  shop  at  the  order  of  the  Cardinals  Santi  Quattro  ^ 
and  Cornaro.  who  told  me  openly  that  the  Pope  would  not 
hear  of  setting  me  at  large,  and  that  the  great  favours  shown 
me  by  King  Francis  had  done  far  more  harm  than  good.  It 
seems  that  the  last  words  spoken  from  the  King  by  Monsignor 
di  Morluc  had  been  to  this  effect,  namely,  that  the  Pope 
ought  to  hand  me  over  to  the  ordinary  judges  of  the  court; 
if  I  had  done  wrong,  he  could  chastise  me;  but  otherwise,  it 
was  but  reason  that  he  should  set  me  at  liberty.     This  mes- 

'  Antonio  Pucci,  a  Florentine,  Cardinal  de'  Quattro  Santi  Coronati. 


202  CELLINI 

sage  so  irritated  the  Pope  that  he  made  his  mind  up  to  keep 
me  a  prisoner  for  hfe.  At  the  same  time,  the  castellan  most 
certainly  did  his  utmost  to  assist  me. 

When  my  enemies  perceived  that  my  shop  was  closed,  they 
lost  no  opportunity  of  taunting  and  reviling  those  servants 
and  friends  of  mine  who  came  to  visit  me  in  prison.  It  hap- 
pened on  one  occasion  that  Ascanio,  who  came  twice  a  day 
to  visit  me,  asked  to  have  a  jacket  cut  out  for  him  from  a 
blue  silk  vest  of  mine  I  never  used.  I  had  only  worn  it  once, 
on  the  occasion  when  I  walked  in  procession.  I  replied  that 
these  were  not  the  times  nor  was  I  in  the  place  to  wear  such 
clothes.  The  young  man  took  my  refusal  of  this  miserable 
vest  so  ill  that  he  told  me  he  wanted  to  go  home  to  Taglia- 
cozzo.  All  in  a  rage,  I  answered  that  he  could  not  please 
me  better  than  by  taking  himself  ofif;  and  he  swore  with 
passion  that  he  would  never  show  his  face  to  me  again.  When 
these  words  passed  between  us,  we  were  walking  round  the 
keep  of  the  castle.  It  happened  that  the  castellan  was  also 
taking  the  air  there;  so  just  when  we  met  his  lordship  Ascanio 
said:  "  I  am  going  away;  farewell  for  ever!  "  I  added:  "  For 
ever,  is  my  wish  too;  and  thus  in  sooth  shall  it  be.  I  shall 
tell  the  sentinels  not  to  let  you  pass  again!  "  Then,  turning 
to  the  castellan,  I  begged  him  with  all  my  heart  to  order  the 
guards  to  keep  Ascanio  out,  adding:  "This  little  peasant 
comes  here  to  add  to  my  great  trouble;  I  entreat  you,  there- 
fore, my  lord,  not  to  let  him  enter  any  more."  The  castellan 
was  much  grieved,  because  he  knew  him  to  be  a  lad  of  mar- 
vellous talents;  he  was,  moreover,  so  fair  of  person  that  every 
one  who  once  set  eyes  on  him  seemed  bound  to  love  him 
beyond  measure. 

The  boy  went  away  weeping.  That  day  he  had  with  him 
a  small  scimitar,  which  it  was  at  times  his  wont  to  carry  hidden 
beneath  his  clothes.  Leaving  the  castle  then,  and  having  his 
face  wet  with  tears,  he  chanced  to  meet  two  of  my  chief 
enemies,  Jeronimo  the  Perugian,  and  a  certain  Michele,  gold- 
smiths both  of  them.  Michele,  being  Jeronimo's  friend  and 
Ascanio's  enemy,  called  out:  "What  is  Ascanio  crying  for? 
Perhaps  his  father  is  dead;  I  mean  that  father  in  the  castle!  " 
Ascanio  answered  on  the  instant:  "  He  is  alive,  but  you  shall 
die  this  minute."  Then,  raising  his  hand,  he  struck  two  blows 
with  the  scimitar,  both  at  the  fellow's  head;  the  first  felled 


MEMOIRS 


203 


him  to  earth,  the  second  lopped  three  fingers  oflF  his  right 
hand,  though  it  was  aimed  at  his  head.  He  lay  there  like  a 
dead  man.  The  matter  was  at  once  reported  to  the  Pope, 
who  cried  in  a  great  fury:  "  Since  the  King  wants  him  to  be 
tried,  go  and  give  him  three  days  to  prepare  his  defence!" 
So  they  came,  and  executed  the  commission  which  the  Pope 
had  given  them. 

The  excellent  castellan  went  ofif  upon  the  spot  to  his  Holi- 
ness, and  informed  him  that  I  was  no  accomplice  in  the  mat- 
ter, and  that  I  had  sent  Ascanio  about  his  business.  So  ably 
did  he  plead  my  cause  that  he  saved  my  life  from  this  impend- 
ing tempest.  Ascanio  meanwhile  escaped  to  Tagliacozzo, 
to  his  home  there,  whence  he  wrote  begging  a  thousand  times 
my  pardon,  and  acknowledging  his  wrong  in  adding  troubles 
to  my  grave  disaster;  but  protesting  that  if  through  God's 
grace  I  came  out  from  the  prison,  he  meant  never  to  aban- 
don me.  I  let  him  understand  that  he  must  mind  his  art, 
and  that  if  God  set  me  at  large  again  I  would  certainly  re- 
call him. 

CVII 

The  castellan  w^as  subject  to  a  certain  sickness,  which 
came  upon  him  every  year  and  deprived  him  of  his  wits. 
The  sign  of  its  approach  was  that  he  kept  continually  talk- 
ing, or  rather  jabbering,  to  no  purpose.  These  humours  took 
a  different  shape  each  year;  one  time  he  thought  he  was  an 
oil-jar;  another  time  he  thought  he  was  a  frog,  and  hopped 
about  as  frogs  do;  another  time  he  thought  he  was  dead,  and 
then  they  had  to  bury  him;  not  a  year  passed  but  he  got 
some  such  hypochondriac  notions  into  his  head.  At  this 
season  he  imagined  that  he  was  a  bat,  and  when  he  went 
abroad  to  take  the  air,  he  used  to  scream  like  bats  in  a  high 
thin  tone;  and  then  he  would  flap  his  hands  and  body  as 
though  he  were  about  to  fly.  The  doctors,  when  they  saw 
the  fit  was  coming  on  him,  and  his  old  servants,  gave  him 
all  the  distractions  they  could  think  of;  and  since  they  had 
noticed  that  he  derived  much  pleasure  from  my  conversation, 
they  were  always  fetching  me  to  keep  him  company.  At 
times  the  poor  man  detained  me  for  four  or  five  stricken 
hours  without  ever  letting  me  cease  talking.  He  used  to 
keep  me  at  his  table,  eating  opposite  to  him.  and  never  stopped 
chatting  and  making  me  chat;  but  during  those  discourses  I 


204 


CELLINI 


contrived  to  make  a  good  meal.  He,  poor  man,  could  neither 
eat  nor  sleep;  so  that  at  last  he  wore  me  out.  I  was  at  the 
end  of  my  strength;  and  sometimes  when  I  looked  at  him, 
I  noticed  that  his  eyeballs  were  rolling  in  a  frightful  manner, 
one  looking  one  way  and  the  other  in  another. 

He  took  it  into  his  head  to  ask  me  whether  I  had  ever 
had  a  fancy  to  fly.  I  answered  that  it  had  always  been  my 
ambition  to  do  those  things  which  ofifer  the  greatest  difh- 
culties  to  men,  and  that  I  had  done  them;  as  to  flying,  the 
God  of  Nature  had  gifted  me  with  a  body  well  suited  for  run- 
ning and  leaping  far  beyond  the  common  average,  and  that 
with  the  talents  I  possessed  for  manual  art  I  felt  sure  I  had 
the  courage  to  try  flying.  He  then  inquired  what  methods 
I  should  use;  to  which  I  answered  that,  taking  into  considera- 
tion all  flying  creatures,  and  wishing  to  imitate  by  art  what 
they  derived  from  nature,  none  was  so  apt  a  model  as  the 
bat.  No  sooner  had  the  poor  man  heard  the  name  bat,  which 
recalled  the  humour  he  was  suffering  under,  than  he  cried  out 
at  the  top  of  his  voice:  "  He  says  true — he  says  true;  the 
bat's  the  thing — the  bat's  the  thing!  "  Then  he  turned  to  me 
and  said:  "  Benvenuto,  if  one  gave  you  the  opportunity, 
should  you  have  the  heart  to  fly?"  I  said  that  if  he  would 
set  me  at  liberty,  I  felt  quite  up  to  flying  down  to  Prati.  after 
making  myself  a  pair  of  wings  out  of  waxed  linen.  There- 
upon he  replied:  "  I  too  should  be  prepared  to  take  flight; 
but  since  the  Pope  has  bidden  me  guard  you  as  though  you 
were  his  own  eyes,  and  I  know  you  a  clever  devil  who  would 
certainly  escape,  I  shall  now  have  you  locked  up  with  a  hun- 
dred keys  in  order  to  prevent  you  slipping  through  my  fin- 
gers." I  then  began  to  implore  him,  and  remind  him  that 
I  might  have  fled,  but  that  on  account  of  the  word  which  I 
had  given  him  I  would  never  have  betrayed  his  trust:  there- 
fore I  begged  him  for  the  love  of  God,  and  by  the  kindness 
he  had  always  shown  me,  not  to  add  greater  evils  to  the  misery 
of  my  present  situation.  While  I  was  pouring  out  these  en- 
treaties, he  gave  strict  orders  to  have  me  bound  and  taken 
and  locked  up  in  prison.  On  seeing  that  it  could  not  be 
helped,  I  told  him  before  all  his  servants:  "Lock  me  well 
up,  and  keep  good  watch  on  me ;  for  I  shall  certainly  contrive 
to  escape,"  So  they  took  and  confined  me  with  the  utmost 
care. 


MEMOIRS  205 

CVIII 

I  then  began  to  deliberate  upon  the  best  way  of  making 
my  escape.  No  sooner  had  I  been  locked  in,  than  I  went 
about  exploring  my  prison;  and  when  I  thought  1  had  dis- 
covered how  to  get  out  of  it,  I  pondered  the  means  of  de- 
scending from  the  lofty  keep,  for  so  the  great  round  central 
tower  is  called.  I  took  those  new  sheets  of  mine,  which,  as 
I  have  said  already,  1  had  cut  in  strips  and  sewn  together; 
then  I  reckoned  up  the  quantity  which  would  be  sufficient  for 
my  purpose.  Having  made  this  estimate  and  put  all  things 
in  order,  I  looked  out  a  pair  of  pincers  which  I  had  abstracted 
from  a  Savoyard  belonging  to  the  guard  of  the  castle.  This 
man  superintended  the  casks  and  cisterns;  he  also  amused 
himself  with  carpentering.  Now  he  possessed  several  pairs 
of  pincers,  among  which  was  one  both  big  and  heavy.  I 
then,  thinking  it  would  suit  my  purpose,  took  it  and  hid  it  in 
my  straw  mattress.  The  time  had  now  come  for  me  to  use 
it;  so  I  began  to  try  the  nails  which  kept  the  hinges  of  my 
door  in  place.^  The  door  was  double,  and  the  clinching  of 
the  nails  could  not  be  seen;  so  that  when  I  attempted  to  draw 
one  out,  I  met  with  the  greatest  trouble;  in  the  end,  how- 
ever, I  succeeded.  When  I  had  drawn  the  first  nail,  I  be- 
thought me  how  to  prevent  its  being  noticed.  For  this  pur- 
pose I  mixed  some  rust,  which  I  had  scraped  from  old  iron, 
with  a  little  wax,  obtaining  exactly  the  same  colour  as  the 
heads  of  the  long  nails  which  I  had  extracted.  Then  I  set 
myself  to  counterfeit  these  heads  and  place  them  on  the  hold- 
fasts; for  each  nail  I  extracted  I  made  a  counterfeit  in  wax. 
I  left  the  hinges  attached  to  their  door-posts  at  top  and  bottom 
by  means  of  some  of  the  same  nails  that  I  had  drawn;  but 
I  took  care  to  cut  these  and  replace  them  lightly,  so  that  they 
only  just  supported  the  irons  of  the  hinges. 

All  this  I  performed  with  the  greatest  difficulty,  because 
the  castellan  kept  dreaming  every  night  that  I  had  escaped, 
which  made  him  send  from  time  to  time  to  inspect  my  prison. 
The  man  who  came  had  the  title  and  behaviour  of  a  catch- 
poll. He  was  called  Bozza,  and  used  always  to  bring  with 
him  another  of  the   same  sort,   named   Giovanni  and  nick- 

'  The  door  seems  to  have  been  hung  upon  binges  with  plates  nailed 
into  the  posts. 


2o6  CELLINI 

named  Pedignone;  the  latter  was  a  soldier,  and  Bozza  a 
serving-man.  Giovanni  never  entered  my  prison  without 
saying  something  offensive  to  me.  He  came  from  the  dis- 
trict of  Prato,  and  had  been  an  apothecary  in  the  town  there. 
Every  evening  he  minutely  examined  the  holdfasts  of  the 
hinges  and  the  whole  chamber,  and  I  used  to  say:  "  Keep 
a  good  watch  over  me,  for  I  am  resolved  by  all  means  to 
escape."  These  words  bred  a  great  enmity  between  him  and 
me,  so  that  I  was  obliged  to  use  precautions  to  conceal  my 
tools,  that  is  to  say,  my  pincers  and  a  great  big  poniard  and 
other  appurtenances.  All  these  I  put  away  together  in  my 
mattress,  where  I  also  kept  the  strips  of  linen  I  had  made. 
When  day  broke,  I  used  immediately  to  sweep  my  room  out; 
and  though  I  am  by  nature  a  lover  of  cleanliness,  at  that  time 
I  kept  myself  unusually  spick  and  span.  After  sweeping  up, 
I  made  my  bed  as  daintily  as  I  could,  laying  flowers  upon  it, 
which  a  Savoyard  used  to  bring  me  nearly  every  morning. 
He  had  the  care  of  the  cistern  and  the  casks,  and  also  amused 
himself  w'ith  carpentering;  it  was  from  him  I  stole  the  pincers 
which  I  used  in  order  to  draw  out  the  nails  from  the  holdfasts 

of  the  hinges. 

CIX 

Well,  to  return  to  the  subject  of  my  bed;  when  Bozza 
and  Pedignone  came,  I  always  told  them  to  give  it  a  wide 
berth,  so  as  not  to  dirty  and  spoil  it  for  me.  Now  and  then, 
just  to  irritate  me,  they  would  touch  it  lightly,  upon  which 
I  cried:  "Ah,  dirty  cowards!  Pll  lay  my  hand  on  one  of 
your  swords  there,  and  will  do  you  a  mischief  that  will  make 
you  wonder.  Do  you  think  you  are  lit  to  touch  the  bed  of 
a  man  like  me?  When  I  chastise  you  I  shall  not  heed  my  own 
life,  for  I  am  certain  to  take  yours.  Let  me  alone  then  with 
my  troubles  and  my  tribulations,  and  don't  give  me  more 
annoyance  than  I  have  already;  if  not,  I  shall  make  you  see 
what  a  desperate  man  is  able  to  do."  These  words  they  re- 
ported to  the  castellan,  who  gave  them  express  orders  never 
to  go  near  my  bed,  and  when  they  came  to  me,  to  come  with- 
out swords,  but  for  the  rest  to  keep  a  watchful  guard  upon  me. 

Having  thus   secured   my   bed   from   meddlers,    I   felt   as 
though  the  main  point  was  gained;  for  there  lay  all  things 
needful  to  my  venture.    It  happened  on  the  evening  of  a  cer-         j 
tain   feast-day   that   the   castellan   was   seriously   indisposed; 


MEMOIRS  207 

his  humours  grew  extravagant;  he  kept  repeating  that  he 
was  a  bat,  and  if  they  heard  that  Benvenuto  had  flown  away, 
they  must  let  him  go  to  catch  me  up,  since  he  could  fly  by 
night  most  certainly  as  well  or  better  than  myself;  for  it  was 
thus  he  argued:  "  Benvenuto  is  a  counterfeit  bat,  but  I  am 
a  real  one;  and  since  he  is  committed  to  my  care,  leave  me 
to  act;  I  shall  be  sure  to  catch  him."  He  had  passed  several 
nights  in  this  frenzy,  and  had  worn  out  all  his  servants,  where- 
of I  received  full  information  through  divers  channels,  but 
specially  from  the  Savoyard,  who  was  my  friend  at  heart. 

On  the  evening  of  that  feast-day,  then,  I  made  my  mind 
up  to  escape,  come  what  might;  and  first  I  prayed  most  de- 
voutly to  God,  imploring  His  Divine  Majesty  to  protect 
and  succour  me  in  that  so  perilous  a  venture.  Afterward 
I  set  to  work  at  all  the  things  I  needed,  and  laboured  the 
whole  of  the  night.  It  was  two  hours  before  daybreak  when 
at  last  I  removed  those  hinges  with  the  greatest  toil;  but  the 
wooden  panel  itself  and  the  bolt  too  offered  such  resistance 
that  I  could  not  open  the  door;  so  I  had  to  cut  into  the  wood; 
yet  in  the  end  I  got  it  open,  and  shouldering  the  strips  of 
linen  which  I  had  rolled  up  like  bundles  of  flax  upon  two 
sticks,  I  went  forth  and  directed  my  steps  toward  the  latrines 
of  the  keep.  Spying  from  within  two  tiles  upon  the  roof,  I 
was  able  at  once  to  clamber  up  with  ease.  I  wore  a  white 
doublet  with  a  pair  of  white  hose  and  a  pair  of  half  boots, 
into  which  I  had  stuck  the  poniard  I  have  mentioned. 

After  scaling  the  roof,  I  took  one  end  of  my  linen  roll  and 
attached  it  to  a  piece  of  antique  tile  which  was  built  into  the 
fortress  wall;  it  happened  to  jut  out  scarcely  four  fingers. 
In  order  to  fix  the  band,  I  gave  it  the  form  of  a  stirrup.  When 
I  had  attached  it  to  that  piece  of  tile,  I  turned  to  God  and 
said:  "Lord  God,  give  aid  to  my  good  cause;  you  know 
that  it  is  good;  you  see  that  I  am  aiding  myself."  Then  I 
let  myself  go  gently  by  degrees,  supporting  myself  with  the 
sinews  of  my  arms,  until  I  touched  the  ground.  There  was 
no  moonshine,  but  the  light  of  a  fair  open  heaven.  When  I 
stood  upon  my  feet  on  solid  earth,  I  looked  up  at  the  vast 
height  which  I  had  descended  with  such  spirit,  and  went 
gladly  away,  thinking  I  was  free.  But  this  was  not  the  case; 
for  the  castellan  on  that  side  of  the  fortress  had  built  two 
lofty  walls,  the  space  between  which  he  used  for  stable  and 


208  CELLINI 

henyard;  the  place  was  barred  with  thick  iron  bolts  outside, 
I  was  terribly  disgusted  to  find  there  was  no  exit  from  this 
trap;  but  while  1  paced  up  and  down  debating  what  to  do, 
I  stumbled  on  a  long  pole  which  was  covered  up  with  straw. 
Not  without  great  trouble  I  succeeded  in  placing  it  against 
the  wall,  and  then  swarmed  up  it  by  the  force  of  my  arms  until 
I  reached  the  top.  But  since  the  wall  ended  in  a  sharp  ridge, 
I  had  not  strength  enough  to  drag  the  pole  up  after  me. 
Accordingly  I  made  my  mind  up  to  use  a  portion  of  the  second 
roll  of  linen  which  I  had  there;  the  other  was  left  hanging 
from  the  keep  of  the  castle.  So  I  cut  a  piece  off,  tied  it  to 
the  pole,  and  clambered  down  the  wall,  enduring  the  utmost 
toil  and  fatigue.  I  was  quite  exhausted,  and  had,  moreover, 
flayed  the  inside  of  my  hands,  which  bled  freely.  This  com- 
pelled me  to  rest  awhile.  When  I  thought  that  my  strength 
was  recovered,  I  advanced  quickly  toward  the  last  rampart, 
which  faces  toward  Prati.  There  I  put  my  bundle  of  linen 
lines  down  upon  the  ground,  meaning  to  fasten  them  round 
a  battlement,  and  descend  the  lesser  as  I  had  the  greater 
height.  But  no  sooner  had  I  placed  the  linen,  than  I  became 
aware  behind  me  of  a  sentinel,  who  was  going  the  rounds. 
Seeing  my  designs  interrupted  and  my  life  in  peril,  I  resolved 
to  face  the  guard.  This  fellow,  when  he  noticed  my  bold 
front,  and  that  I  was  marching  on  him  with  weapon  in  hand, 
quickened  his  pace  and  gave  me  a  wide  berth.  I  had  left 
my  lines  some  little  way  behind;  so  I  turned  with  hasty  steps  to 
regain  them;  and  though  I  came  within  sight  of  another  senti- 
nel, he  seemed  as  though  he  did  not  choose  to  take  notice  of  me. 
Having  found  my  lines  and  attached  them  to  the  battlement,  I 
let  myself  go.  On  the  descent,  whether  it  was  that  I  thought  I 
had  really  come  to  earth  and  relaxed  my  grasp  to  jump,  or 
whether  my  hands  were  so  tired  that  they  could  not  keep  their 
hold,  at  any  rate  I  fell,  struck  my  head  in  falling,  and  lay  stunned 
for  more  than  an  hour  and  a  half,  so  far  as  I  could  judge. 

It  was  just  upon  daybreak,  when  the  fresh  breeze  which 
blows  an  hour  before  the  sun  revived  me;  yet  I  did  not  im- 
mediately recover  my  senses,  for  I  thought  my  head  had 
been  cut  off  and  fancied  that  I  was  in  purgatory.  With  time, 
little  by  little,  my  faculties  returned,  and  I  perceived  that  I 
was  outside  the  castle,  and  in  a  flash  remembered  all  my 
adventures.     I  was  aware  of  the  wound  in  my  head  before 


MEMOIRS  209 

I  knew  my  leg  was  broken;  for  I  put  my  hands  up,  and  with- 
drew them  covered  with  blood.  Then  I  searched  the  spot 
well,  and  judged  and  ascertained  that  I  had  sustained  no 
injury  of  consequence  there;  but  when  I  wanted  to  stand 
up,  I  discovered  that  my  right  leg  was  broken  three  inches 
above  the  heel.  Not  even  this  dismayed  me:  I  drew  forth  my 
poniard  with  its  scabbard;  the  latter  had  a  metal  point  ending 
in  a  large  ball,  which  had  caused  the  fracture  of  my  leg;  for 
the  bone,  coming  into  violent  contact  with  the  ball,  and  not 
being  able  to  bend,  had  snapped  at  that  point.  I  threw  the 
sheath  away,  and  with  the  poniard  cut  a  piece  of  the  linen 
which  I  had  left.  Then  I  bound  my  leg  up  as  well  as  I  could, 
and  crawled  on  all  fours  with  the  poniard  in  my  hand  toward 
the  city  gate.  When  I  reached  it,  I  found  it  shut;  but  I  no- 
ticed a  stone  just  beneath  the  door  which  did  not  appear  to 
be  very  firmly  fixed.  This  I  attempted  to  dislodge;  after 
setting  my  hands  to  it,  and  feeling  it  move,  it  easily  gave 
way,  and  I  drew  it  out.    Through  the  gap  thus  made  I  crept 

into  the  town. 

CX 

I  had  crawled  more  than  five  hundred  paces  from  the 
place  where  I  fell,  to  the  gate  by  which  I  entered.  No  sooner 
had  I  got  inside  than  some  mastiff  dogs  set  upon  me  and 
bit  me  badly.  When  they  returned  to  the  attack  and  wor- 
ried me,  I  drew  my  poniard  and  wounded  one  of  them  so 
sharply  that  he  howled  aloud,  and  all  the  dogs,  according  to 
their  nature,  ran  after  him.  I  meanwhile  made  the  best  way  I 
could  on  all  fours  toward  the  church  of  the  Trespontina. 

On  arriving  at  the  opening  of  the  street  which  leads  to 
Sant'  Agnolo,  I  turned  off  in  the  direction  of  San  Piero; 
and  now  the  dawn  had  risen  over  me,  and  I  felt  myself  in 
danger.  When  therefore  I  chanced  to  meet  a  water-carrier 
driving  his  donkey  laden  with  full  buckets,  I  called  the  fellow, 
and  begged  him  to  carry  me  upon  his  back  to  the  terrace 
by  the  steps  of  San  Piero,  adding:  "  I  am  an  unfortunate 
young  man,  who,  while  escaping  from  a  window  in  a  love- 
adventure,  have  fallen  and  broken  my  leg.  The  place  from 
which  I  made  my  exit  is  one  of  great  importance;  and  if  I 
am  discovered.  I  run  risk  of  being  cut  to  pieces;  so  for  heav- 
en's sake  lift  me  quickly,  and  I  will  give  you  a  crown  of 
gold."  Saying  this,  I  clapped  my  hand  to  my  purse,  where 
14 


2IO  CELLINI 

I  had  a  good  quantity.  He  took  me  up  at  once,  hitched  me 
on  his  back,  and  carried  me  to  the  raised  terrace  by  the  steps 
to  San  Piero.  There  I  bade  him  leave  me,  saying  he  must 
run  back  to  his  donkey. 

I  resumed  my  march,  crawhng  always  on  all  fours,  and 
making  for  the  palace  of  the  Duchess,  wife  of  Duke  Ottavio 
and  daughter  of  the  Emperor.^  She  was  his  child,  and  had 
been  married  to  Duke  Alessandro.  I  chose  her  house  for 
refuge,  because  I  was  quite  certain  that  many  of  my  friends, 
who  had  come  with  that  great  princess  from  Florence,  were 
tarrying  here;  also  because  she  had  taken  me  into  favour 
through  something  which  the  castellan  had  said  in  my  behalf. 
Wishing  to  be  of  service  to  me,  he  told  the  Pope  that  I  had 
saved  the  city  more  than  a  thousand  crowns  of  damage, 
caused  by  heavy  rain  on  the  occasion  when  the  Duchess  made 
her  entrance  into  Rome.  He  related  how  he  was  in  despair, 
and  how  I  put  heart  into  him,  and  went  on  to  describe  how 
I  had  pointed  several  large  pieces  of  artillery  in  the  direction 
where  the  clouds  were  thickest,  and  whence  a  deluge  of  water 
was  already  pouring;  then,  when  I  began  to  fire,  the  rain 
stopped,  and  at  the  fourth  discharge  the  sun  shone  out;  and 
so  I  was  the  sole  cause  of  the  festival  succeeding,  to  the  joy 
of  everybody.  On  hearing  this  narration  the  Duchess  said: 
"  That  Benvenuto  is  one  of  the  artists  of  merit,  who  enjoyed 
the  good-will  of  my  late  husband,  Duke  Alessandro,  and  I 
shall  always  hold  them  in  mind  if  an  opportunity  comes  of 
doing  such  men  service."  She  also  talked  of  me  to  Duke 
Ottavio.  For  these  reasons  I  meant  to  go  straight  to  the 
house  of  her  Excellency,  which  was  a  very  fine  palace  situ- 
ated in  Borgio  Vecchio. 

I  should  have  been  quite  safe  from  recapture  by  the  Pope 
if  I  could  have  stayed  there;  but  my  exploits  up  to  this  point 
had  been  too  marvellous  for  a  human  being,  and  God  was 
unwilling  to  encourage  my  vainglory;  accordingly,  for  my 
own  good,  He  chastised  me  a  second  time  worse  even  than 
the  first.  The  cause  of  this  was  that  while  I  was  crawling 
on  all  fours  up  those  steps,  a  servant  of  Cardinal  Cornaro 
recognised  me.  His  master  was  then  lodging  in  the  palace; 
so  the  servant  ran  up  to  his  room  and  woke  him,  crying: 

'  Margaret  of  Austria,  who  married  Ottaviano  Farnese  in  November, 
1538,  after  Alessandro's  murder. 


MEMOIRS  211 

"  Most  reverend  Monsignor,  your  friend  Benvenuto  is  down 
there;  he  has  escaped  from  the  castle,  and  is  crawUng  on 
all  fours,  streaming  with  blood;  to  all  appearances  he  has 
broken  a  leg,  and  we  don't  know  whither  he  is  going."  The 
Cardinal  exclaimed  at  once:  "  Run  and  carry  him  upon  your 
back  into  my  room  here."  When  I  arrived,  he  told  me  to  be 
under  no  apprehension,  and  sent  for  the  first  physicians  of 
Rome  to  take  my  case  in  hand.  Among  them  was  Maestro 
Jacomo  of  Perugia,  a  most  excellent  and  able  surgeon.  He 
set  the  bone  with  dexterity,  then  bound  the  limb  up,  and 
bled  me  with  his  own  hand.  It  happened  that  my  veins  were 
swollen  far  beyond  their  usual  size,  and  he  too  wished  to 
make  a  pretty  wide  incision;  accordingly  the  blood  sprang 
forth  so  copiously,  and  spurted  with  such  force  into  his  face, 
that  he  had  to  abandon  the  operation.  He  regarded  this  as 
a  very  bad  omen,  and  could  hardly  be  prevailed  upon  to 
undertake  my  cure.  Indeed,  he  often  expressed  a  wish  to 
leave  me,  remembering  that  he  ran  no  little  risk  of  punishment 
for  having  treated  my  case,  or  rather  for  having  proceeded 
to  the  end  with  it.  The  Cardinal  had  me  placed  in  a  secret 
chamber,  and  went  oflf  immediately  to  beg  me  from  the  Pope. 

CXI 

During  this  while  all  Rome  was  in  an  uproar;  for  they 
had  observed  the  bands  of  linen  fastened  to  the  great  keep 
of  the  castle,  and  folk  were  running  in  crowds  to  behold  so 
extraordinary  a  thing.  The  castellan  had  gone  oflf  into  one 
of  his  worst  fits  of  frenzy;  in  spite  of  all  his  servants,  he  in- 
sisted upon  taking  his  flight  also  from  the  tower,  saying  that 
no  one  could  recapture  me  except  himself  if  he  were  to  fly 
after  me.  Messer  Ruberto  Pucci,  the  father  of  Messer  Pan- 
dolfo,  having  heard  of  the  great  event,  went  in  person  to 
inspect  the  place;  afterward  he  came  to  the  palace,  where 
he  met  with  Cardinal  Cornaro,  who  told  him  exactly  what  had 
happened,  and  how  I  was  lodged  in  one  of  his  own  chambers, 
and  already  in  the  doctor's  hands.  These  two  worthy  men 
went  together,  and  threw  themselves  upon  their  knees  before 
the  Pope;  but  he,  before  they  could  get  a  word  out,  cried 
aloud:  "  I  know  all  that  you  want  of  me."  Messer  Ruberto 
Pucci  then  began:  "Most  blessed  Father,  we  beg  vou  for 
Heaven's  grace  to  give  us  up  that  unfortunate  man;  surely 


212  CELLINI 

his  great  talents  entitle  him  to  exceptional  treatment;  more- 
over, he  has  displayed  such  audacity,  blent  with  so  much  in- 
genuity, that  his  exploit  might  seem  superhuman.  We  know 
not  for  what  crimes  your  Holiness  has  kept  him  so  long  in 
prison;  however,  if  those  crimes  are  too  exorbitant,  your 
Holiness  is  wise  and  holy,  and  may  your  will  be  done  unques- 
tioned; still,  if  they  are  such  as  can  be  condoned,  we  entreat 
you  to  pardon  him  for  our  sake."  The  Pope,  when  he  heard 
this,  felt  shame,  and  answered:  "  I  have  kept  him  in  prison 
at  the  request  of  some  of  my  people,  since  he  is  a  little  too 
violent  in  his  behaviour;  but  recognising  his  talents,  and 
wishing  to  keep  him  near  our  person,  we  had  intended  to 
treat  him  so  well  that  he  should  have  no  reason  to  return  to 
France.  I  am  very  sorry  to  hear  of  his  bad  accident;  tell  him 
to  mind  his  health,  and  when  he  is  recovered,  we  will  make 
it  up  to  him  for  all  his  troubles." 

Those  two  excellent  men  returned  and  told  me  the  good 
news  they  were  bringing  from  the  Pope.  Meanwhile  the 
nobility  of  Rome,  young,  old,  and  all  sorts,  came  to  visit  me. 
The  castellan,  out  of  his  mind  as  he  was,  had  himself  carried 
to  the  Pope ;  and  when  he  was  in  the  presence  of  his  Holi- 
ness, began  to  cry  out,  and  to  say  that  if  he  did  not  send 
me  back  to  prison,  he  would  do  him  a  great  wrong.  "  He 
escaped  under  parole  which  he  gave  me;  woe  is  me  that  he 
has  flown  away  when  he  promised  not  to  fly!  "  The  Pope 
said,  laughing:  "  Go,  go;  for  I  will  give  him  back  to  you 
without  fail."  The  castellan  then  added,  speaking  to  the 
Pope:  "Send  the  Governor  to  him  to  find  out  who  helped 
him  to  escape;  for  if  it  is  one  of  my  men,  I  will  hang  him 
from  the  battlement  whence  Benvenuto  leaped."  On  his 
departure  the  Pope  called  the  Governor,  and  said,  smiling: 
"  That  is  a  brave  fellow,  and  his  exploit  is  something  mar- 
vellous; all  the  same,  when  I  was  a  young  man,  I  also  de- 
scended from  the  fortress  at  that  very  spot."  In  so  saying 
the  Pope  spoke  the  truth :  for  he  had  been  imprisoned  in  the 
castle  for  forging  a  brief  at  the  time  when  he  was  abbreviator 
di  Parco  Majoris.^     Pope  Alexander  kept  him  confined  for 

'  The  Collegium  Abbreviatorum  di  Parco  Majori  consisted  of  seventy- 
two  members.  It  was  established  by  Pius  II.  Onofrio  Panvinio  tells 
this  story  of  Paul  Ill's  imprisonment  and  escape,  but  places  it  in  the 
Papacy  of  Innocent  VIII. 


MEMOIRS 


213 


I 


some  length  of  time;  and  afterward,  his  ofifence  being  of  too 
ugly  a  nature,  had  resolved  on  cutting  off  his  head.  He  post- 
poned the  execution,  however,  till  after  Corpus  Domini;  and 
Farnese,  getting  wind  of  the  Pope's  will,  summoned  Pietro 
Chiavelluzzi  with  a  lot  of  horses,  and  managed  to  corrupt 
some  of  the  castle  guards  with  money.  Accordingly,  upon 
the  day  of  Corpus  Domini,  while  the  Pope  was  going  in  pro- 
cession, Farnese  got  into  a  basket  and  was  let  down  by  a 
rope  to  the  ground.  At  that  time  the  outer  walls  had  not 
been  built  around  the  castle;  only  the  great  central  tower 
existed;  so  that  he  had  not  the  same  enormous  difficulty  that 
I  met  with  in  escaping;  moreover,  he  had  been  imprisoned 
justly,  and  I  against  all  equity.  What  he  wanted  was  to  brag 
before  the  Governor  of  having  in  his  youth  been  spirited  and 
brave;  and  it  did  not  occur  to  him  that  he  was  calling  atten- 
tion to  his  own  huge  rogueries.  He  said  then:  "  Go  and  tell 
him  to  reveal  his  accomplice  without  apprehension  to  you, 
be  the  man  who  he  may  be,  since  I  have  pardoned  him;  and 
this  you  may  assure  him  without  reservation." 

CXII 

So  the  Governor  came  to  see  me.  Two  days  before  he 
had  been  made  Bishop  of  Jesi;  and  when  he  entered  he  said: 
"  Friend  Benvenuto,  although  my  office  is  wont  to  frighten 
men,  I  come  to  set  your  mind  at  rest,  and  to  do  this  I  have 
full  authority  from  his  Holiness's  own  lips,  who  told  me  how 
he  also  escaped  from  Sant'  Angelo,  but  had  many  aids  and 
much  company,  else  he  would  not  have  been  able  to  accom- 
plish it.  I  swear  by  the  sacraments  which  I  carry  on  my 
person  (for  I  was  consecrated  Bishop  two  days  since)  that  the 
Pope  has  set  you  free  and  pardoned  you,  and  is  very  sorry 
for  your  accident.  Attend  to  your  health,  and  take  all  things 
for  the  best;  for  your  imprisonment,  which  you  certainly 
underwent  without  a  shadow  of  guilt,  will  have  been  for  your 
perpetual  welfare.  Henceforward  you  will  tread  down  pov- 
erty, and  will  not  have  to  go  back  to  France,  wearing  out 
your  life  in  this  place  and  in  that.  Tell  me  then  frankly  how 
the  matter  went,  and  who  rendered  you  assistance;  after- 
ward take  comfort,  repose,  and  recover."  I  began  at  the  be- 
ginning, and  related  the  whole  story  exactly  as  it  had  hap- 
pened, giving  him  the  most  minute  countersigns,  down  to 


214 


CELLINI 


the  water-carrier  who  bore  me  on  his  back.  When  the  Gov- 
ernor had  heard  the  whole,  he  said:  "Of  a  surety  these  are 
too  great  exploits  for  one  man  alone;  no  one  but  you  could 
have  performed  them."  So  he  made  me  reach  my  hand  forth, 
and  said:  "  Be  of  good  courage  and  comfort  your  heart,  for 
by  this  hand  which  I  am  holding  you  are  free,  and  if  you  live, 
shall  live  in  happiness."  While  thus  conversing  with  me, 
he  had  kept  a  whole  heap  of  great  lords  and  noblemen  wait- 
ing, who  were  come  to  visit  me,  saying  one  to  the  other: 
"  Let  us  go  to  see  this  man  who  works  miracles."  So,  when 
he  departed,  they  stayed  by  me,  and  one  made  me  offers  of 
kindness,  and  another  made  me  presents. 

While  I  was  being  entertained  in  this  way,  the  Governor 
returned  to  the  Pope,  and  reported  all  that  I  had  said.  As 
chance  would  have  it,  Signor  Pier  Luigi,  the  Pope's  son, 
happened  to  be  present,  and  all  the  company  gave  signs  of 
great  astonishment.  His  Holiness  remarked:  "Of  a  truth 
this  is  a  marvellous  exploit."  Then  Pier  Luigi  began  to  speak 
as  follows:  "Most  blessed  Father,  if  you  set  that  man  free, 
he  will  do  something  still  more  marvellous,  because  he  has 
by  far  too  bold  a  spirit.  I  will  tell  you  another  story  about 
him  which  you  do  not  know.  That  Benvenuto  of  yours,  be- 
fore he  was  imprisoned,  came  to  words  with  a  gentleman  of 
Cardinal  Santa  Fiore,^  about  some  trifle  which  the  latter  had 
said  to  him.  Now  Benvenuto's  retort  was  so  swaggeringly 
insolent  that  it  amounted  to  throwing  down  a  cartel.  The 
gentleman  referred  the  matter  to  the  Cardinal,  who  said  that 
if  he  once  laid  hands  on  Benvenuto  he  would  soon  clear  his 
head  of  such  folly.  When  the  fellow  heard  this,  he  got  a 
little  fowling-piece  of  his  ready,  with  which  he  is  accustomed 
to  hit  a  penny  in  the  middle;  accordingly,  one  day  when  the 
Cardinal  was  looking  out  of  window,  Benvenuto's  shop  being 
under  the  palace  of  the  Cardinal,  he  took  his  gun  and  pointed 
it  upon  the  Cardinal.  The  Cardinal,  however,  had  been 
warned,  and  presently  withdrew.  Benvenuto,  in  order  that 
his  intention  might  escape  notice,  aimed  at  a  pigeon  which 
was  brooding  high  up  in  a  hole  of  the  palace,  and  hit  it  ex- 
actly in  the  head — a  feat  one  would  have  thought  incredible. 
Now  let  your  Holiness  do  what  you  think  best  about  him; 

'  Ascanio  Sforza,  son  of  Rosio,  Count  of  Santa  Fiore,  and  grandson  of 
Paul  III.     He  got  the  hat  in  1534,  at  the  age  of  sixteen. 


MEMOIRS  215 

I  have  discharged  my  duty  by  saying  what  I  have.  It  might 
even  come  into  his  head,  imagining  that  he  had  been  wrongly 
imprisoned,  to  fire  upon  your  HoHness.  Indeed  he  is  too 
truculent,  by  far  too  confident  in  his  own  powers.  When  he 
killed  Pompeo,  he  gave  him  two  stabs  with  a  poniard  in  the 
throat,  in  the  midst  of  ten  men  who  were  guarding  him;  then 
he  escaped,  to  their  great  shame,  and  yet  they  were  no  incon- 
siderable persons." 

CXIII 

While  these  words  were  being  spoken,  the  gentleman  of 
Santa  Fiore  with  whom  I  had  that  quarrel  was  present,  and 
confirmed  to  the  Pope  what  had  been  spoken  by  his  son. 
The  Pope  swelled  with  rage,  but  said  nothing.  I  shall  now 
proceed  to  give  my  own  version  of  the  affair,  truly  and  hon- 
estly. 

This  gentleman  came  to  me  one  day,  and  showed  me  a 
little  gold  ring  which  had  been  discoloured  by  quicksilver, 
saying  at  the  same  time:  "  Polish  up  this  ring  for  me,  and 
be  quick  about  it."  I  was  engaged  at  the  moment  upon  jewel- 
work  of  gold  and  gems  of  great  importance:  besides,  I  did 
not  care  to  be  ordered  about  so  haughtily  by  a  man  I  had 
never  seen  or  spoken  to;  so  I  replied  that  I  did  not  happen 
to  have  by  me  the  proper  tool  for  cleaning  up  his  ring,  and 
that  he  had  better  go  to  another  goldsmith.  Without  fur- 
ther provocation  he  retorted  that  I  was  a  donkey;  whereupon 
I  said  that  he  was  not  speaking  the  truth ;  that  I  was  a  better 
man  than  he  in  every  respect,  but  that  if  he  kept  on  irritating 
me  I  would  give  him  harder  kicks  than  any  donkey  could. 
He  related  the  matter  to  the  Cardinal,  and  painted  me  as 
black  as  the  devil  in  hell.  Two  days  afterward  I  shot  a  wild 
pigeon  in  a  cleft  high  up  behind  the  palace.  The  bird  was 
brooding  in  that  cleft,  and  I  had  often  seen  a  goldsmith  named 
Giovan  Francesco  della  Tacca,  from  Milan,  fire  at  it;  but  he 
never  hit  it.  On  the  day  when  I  shot  it,  the  pigeon  scarcely 
showed  its  head,  being  suspicious  because  it  had  been  so 
often  fired  at.  Now  this  Giovan  Francesco  and  I  were  rivals 
in  shooting  wildfowl;  and  some  gentlemen  of  my  acquaint- 
ance, who  happened  to  be  at  my  shop,  called  my  attention, 
saying:  "  Up  there  is  Giovan  Francesco  della  Tacca's  pigeon, 
at  which  he  has  so  often  fired;  look  now,  the  poor  creature 
is  so  frightened  that  it  hardly  ventures  to  put  its  head  out." 


2i6  CELLINI 

I  raised  my  eyes,  and  said:  "  That  morsel  of  its  head  is  quite 
enough  for  me  to  shoot  it  by,  if  it  only  stays  till  I  can  point 
my  gun."  The  gentlemen  protested  that  even  the  man  who 
invented  firearms  could  not  hit  it.  I  replied:  "  I  bet  a  bottle 
of  that  excellent  Greek  wine  Palombo  the  host  keeps,  that  if 
it  keeps  quiet  long  enough  for  me  to  point  my  good  Broc- 
cardo  (so  I  used  to  call  my  gun),  I  will  hit  it  in  that  portion 
of  its  head  which  it  is  showing."  So  I  aimed  my  gun,  ele- 
vating my  arms,  and  using  no  other  rest,  and  did  what  I  had 
promised,  without  thinking  of  the  Cardinal  or  any  other  per- 
son; on  the  contrary,  I  held  the  Cardinal  for  my  very  good 
patron.  Let  the  world,  then,  take  notice,  when  Fortune  has 
the  will  to  ruin  a  man,  how  many  divers  ways  she  takes!  The 
Pope,  swelling  with  rage  and  grumbling,  remained  revolving 
what  his  son  had  told  him. 

CXIV 

Two  days  afterward  the  Cardinal  Cornaro  went  to  beg 
a  bishopric  from  the  Pope  for  a  gentleman  of  his  called 
Messer  Andrea  Centano.  The  Pope,  in  truth,  had  promised 
him  a  bishopric;  and  this  being  now  vacant,  the  Cardinal 
reminded  him  of  his  word.  The  Pope  acknowledged  his 
obligation,  but  said  that  he  too  wanted  a  favour  from  his 
most  reverend  lordship,  which  was  that  he  would  give  up 
Benvenuto  to  him.  On  this  the  Cardinal  replied:  "Oh,  if 
your  Holiness  has  pardoned  him  and  set  him  free  at  my  dis- 
posal, what  will  the  world  say  of  you  and  me?"  The  Pope 
answered:  "I  want  Benvenuto,  you  want  the  bishopric;  let 
the  world  say  what  it  chooses."  The  good  Cardinal  entreated 
his  Holiness  to  give  him  the  bishopric,  and  for  the  rest  to 
think  the  matter  over,  and  then  to  act  according  as  his  Holi- 
ness decided.  The  Pope,  feeling  a  certain  amount  of  shame 
at  so  wickedly  breaking  his  word,  took  what  seemed  a  middle 
course:  "  I  will  send  for  Benvenuto,  and  in  order  to  gratify 
the  whim  I  have,  will  put  him  in  those  rooms  which  open 
on  my  private  garden;  there  he  can  attend  to  his  recovery, 
and  I  will  not  prevent  any  of  his  friends  from  coming  to  visit 
him.  Moreover,  I  will  defray  his  expenses  until  this  caprice 
of  mine  has  left  me." 

The  Cardinal  came  home,  and  sent  the  candidate  for  this 
bishopric  on  the  spot  to  inform  me  that  the  Pope  was  resolved 


MEMOIRS  217 

to  have  me  back,  but  that  he  meant  to  keep  me  in  a  ground- 
floor  room  in  his  private  garden,  where  I  could  receive  the 
visits  of  my  friends,  as  I  had  done  in  his  own  house.  I  im- 
plored this  Messer  Andrea  to  ask  the  Cardinal  not  to  give 
me  up  to  the  Pope,  but  to  let  me  act  on  my  own  account. 
I  would  have  myself  wrapped  up  in  a  mattress,  and  carried 
to  a  safe  place  outside  Rome;  for  if  he  gave  me  up  to  the 
Pope,  he  would  certainly  be  sending  me  to  death.  It  is  be- 
lieved that  when  the  Cardinal  heard  my  petition  he  was  not 
ill-disposed  to  grant  it;  but  Messer  Andrea,  wanting  to  secure 
the  bishopric,  denounced  me  to  the  Pope,  who  sent  at  once 
and  had  me  lodged  in  the  ground-floor  chamber  of  his  pri- 
vate garden.  The  Cardinal  sent  me  word  not  to  eat  the  food 
provided  for  me  by  the  Pope;  he  would  supply  me  with 
provisions;  meanwhile  I  was  to  keep  my  spirits  up,  for  he 
would  work  in  my  cause  till  I  was  set  free.  Matters  being 
thus  arranged,  I  received  daily  visits  and  generous  ofTers  from 
many  great  lords  and  gentlemen.  Food  came  from  the  Pope, 
which  I  refused  to  touch,  only  eating  that  which  came  from 
Cardinal  Cornaro;  and  thus  I  remained  awhile. 

I  had  among  my  friends  a  young  Greek  of  the  age  of 
twenty-five  years.  He  was  extremely  active  in  all  physical 
exercises,  and  the  best  swordsman  in  Rome;  rather  poor- 
spirited,  however,  but  loyal  to  the  backbone;  honest,  and 
ready  to  believe  w^hat  people  told  him.  He  had  heard  it  said 
that  the  Pope  made  known  his  intention  of  compensating  me 
for  all  I  had  gone  through.  It  is  true  that  the  Pope  began 
by  saying  so,  but  he  ended  by  saying  quite  the  opposite.  I 
then  determined  to  confide  in  the  young  Greek,  and  said  to 
him:  "Dearest  brother,  they  are  plotting  my  ruin;  so  now 
the  time  has  come  to  help  me.  Do  they  imagine,  when  they 
heap  those  extraordinary  favours  on  me,  that  I  am  not  aw^are 
they  are  done  to  betray  me?"  The  worthy  young  man  an- 
swered: "  My  Benvenuto,  they  say  in  Rome  that  the  Pope 
has  bestowed  on  you  an  office  with  an  income  of  five  hun- 
dred crowns;  I  beseech  you  therefore  not  to  let  those  sus- 
picions deprive  you  of  so  great  a  windfall."  All  the  same  I 
begged  him  with  clasped  hands  to  aid  me  in  escaping  from 
that  place,  saying  I  knew  well  that  a  Pope  of  that  sort,  though 
he  could  do  me  much  good  if  he  chose,  was  really  studying 
secretly,  and  to  save  appearances,   how  he  might  best  de- 


2i8  CELLINI 

stroy  me;  therefore  we  must  be  quick  and  try  to  save  me 
from  his  ckitches.  If  my  friend  would  get  me  out  of  that 
place  by  the  means  I  meant  to  tell  him,  1  should  always  re- 
gard him  as  the  saviour  of  my  life,  and  when  occasion  came 
would  lay  it  down  for  him  with  gladness.  The  poor  young 
man  shed  tears,  and  cried:  "Oh,  my  dear  brother,  though 
you  are  bringing  destruction  on  your  head,  I  can  not  but 
fulfil  your  wishes;  so  explain  your  plan,  and  I  will  do  what- 
ever you  may  order,  albeit  much  against  my  will."  Accord- 
ingly we  came  to  an  agreement,  and  I  disclosed  to  him  the 
details  of  my  scheme,  which  was  certain  to  have  succeeded 
without  difficulty.  When  I  hoped  that  he  was  coming  to  exe- 
cute it,  he  came  and  told  me  that  for  my  own  good  he  meant 
to  disobey  me,  being  convinced  of  the  truth  of  what  he  had 
heard  from  men  close  to  the  Pope's  person,  who  understood 
the  real  state  of  my  affairs.  Having  nothing  else  to  rely 
upon,  I  remained  in  despair  and  misery.  This  passed  on  the 
day  of  Corpus  Domini,  1539. 

CXV 

After  my  conversation  with  the  Greek,  the  whole  day 
wore  away,  and  at  night  there  came  abundant  provisions 
from  the  kitchen  of  the  Pope;  the  Cardinal  Cornaro  also  sent 
good  store  of  viands  from  his  kitchen;  and  some  friends  of 
mine  being  present  when  they  arrived,  I  made  them  stay  to 
supper,  and  enjoyed  their  society,  keeping  my  leg  in  splints 
beneath  the  bed-clothes.  An  hour  after  nightfall  they  left 
me;  and  two  of  my  servants,  having  made  me  comfortable  for 
the  night,  went  to  sleep  in  the  antechamber.  I  had  a  dog, 
black  as  a  mulberry,  one  of  those  hairy  ones,  who  followed 
me  admirably  when  I  went  out  shooting,  and  never  left  my 
side.  During  the  night  he  lay  beneath  my  bed,  and  I  had 
to  call  out  at  least  three  times  to  my  servant  to  turn  him  out, 
because  he  howled  so  fearfully.  When  the  servants  entered, 
the  dog  flew  at  them  and  tried  to  bite  them.  They  were  fright- 
ened, and  thought  he  must  be  mad,  because  he  went  on  howl- 
ing. In  this  way  we  passed  the  first  four  hours  of  the  night. 
At  the  stroke  of  four  the  Bargello  came  into  my  room  with  a 
band  of  constables.  Then  the  dog  sprang  forth  and  flew 
at  them  with  such  fury,  tearing  their  capes  and  hose,  that 
in  their  fright  they  fancied  he  was  mad.     But  the  Bargello, 


MEMOIRS  219 

like  an  experienced  person,  told  them:  "  It  is  the  nature  of 
good  dogs  to  divine  and  foretell  the  mischance  coming  on 
their  masters.  Two  of  you  take  sticks  and  beat  the  dog  off; 
while  the  others  strap  Benvenuto  on  this  chair;  then  carry 
him  to  the  place  you  wot  of."  It  was,  as  I  have  said,  the  night 
after  Corpus  Domini,  and  about  four  o'clock. 

The  oflficers  carried  me,  well  shut  up  and  covered,  and 
four  of  them  went  in  front,  making  the  few  passengers  who 
were  still  abroad  get  out  of  the  way.  So  they  bore  me  to 
Torre  di  Nona,  such  is  the  name  of  the  place,  and  put  me 
in  the  condemned  cell.  I  was  left  upon  a  wretched  mattress 
under  the  care  of  a  guard,  who  kept  all  night  mourning 
over  my  bad  luck,  and  saying  to  me:  "  Alas!  poor  Benvenuto, 
what  have  you  done  to  those  great  folk?"  I  could  now 
form  a  very  good  opinion  of  what  was  going  to  happen  to 
me,  partly  by  the  place  in  which  I  found  myself,  and  also 
by  what  the  man  had  told  me.  During  a  portion  of  that 
night  I  kept  racking  my  brains  what  the  cause  could  be  why 
God  thought  fit  to  try  me  so,  and  not  being  able  to  discover 
it,  I  was  violently  agitated  in  my  soul.  The  guard  did  the 
best  he  could  to  comfort  me;  but  I  begged  him  for  the  love 
of  God  to  stop  talking,  seeing  I  should  be  better  able  to  com- 
pose myself  alone  in  quiet.  He  promised  to  do  as  I  asked; 
and  then  I  turned  my  whole  heart  to  God,  devoutly  entreat- 
ing Him  to  deign  to  take  me  into  His  kingdom.  I  had,  it  is 
true,  murmured  against  my  lot,  because  it  seemed  to  me  that, 
so  far  as  human  laws  go,  my  departure  from  the  world  in  this 
way  would  be  too  unjust;  it  is  true  also  that  I  had  committed 
homicides,  but  His  Vicar  had  called  me  from  my  native  city 
and  pardoned  me  by  the  authority  he  had  from  Him  and 
from  the  laws;  and  what  I  had  done  had  all  been  done  in 
defence  of  the  body  which  His  Majesty  had  lent  me;  so  I 
could  not  admit  that  I  deserved  death  according  to  the  dis- 
pensation under  which  man  dwells  here;  but  it  seemed  that 
what  was  happening  to  me  was  the  same  as  what  happens  to 
unlucky  people  in  the  street,  when  a  stone  falls  from  some 
great  height  upon  their  head  and  kills  them;  this  we  see 
clearly  to  be  the  influence  of  the  stars;  not  indeed  that  the 
stars  conspire  to  do  us  good  or  evil,  but  the  effect  results 
from  their  conjunctions,  to  which  we  are  subordinated.  At 
the  same  time  I  know  that  T  am  possessed  of  free-will,  and 


220  CELLINI 

if  I  could  exert  the  faith  of  a  saint,  I  am  sure  that  the  angels 
of  heaven  will  bear  me  from  this  dungeon  and  relieve  me 
of  all  my  afflictions;  yet  inasmuch  as  God  has  not  deemed  me 
worthy  of  such  miracles,  I  conclude  that  those  celestial  influ- 
ences must  be  wreaking  their  malignity  upon  me.  In  this 
long  struggle  of  the  soul  I  spent  some  time;  then  I  found 
comfort,  and  fell  presently  asleep. 

CXVI 

When  the  day  dawned,  the  guard  woke  me  up  and  said: 
"  Oh,  unfortunate  but  worthy  man,  you  have  no  more  time 
to  go  on  sleeping,  for  one  is  waiting  here  to  give  you  evil 
news."  I  answered :  "  The  sooner  I  escape  from  this  earthly 
prison,  the  happier  shall  I  be;  especially  as  I  am  sure  my 
soul  is  saved,  and  that  I  am  going  to  an  undeserved  death. 
Christ,  the  glorious  and  divine,  elects  me  to  the  company  of 
His  disciples  and  friends,  who,  like  Himself,  were  condemned 
to  die  unjustly.  I  too  am  sentenced  to  an  unjust  death,  and 
I  thank  God  with  humility  for  this  sign  of  grace.  Why  does 
not  the  man  come  forward  who  has  to  pronounce  my  doom?  " 
The  guard  replied:  "  He  is  too  grieved  for  you,  and  sheds 
tears."  Then  I  called  him  by  his  name  of  Messer  Benedetto 
da  Cagli,  and  cried:  "  Come  forward,  Messer  Benedetto,  my 
friend,  for  now  I  am  resolved  and  in  good  frame  of  mind; 
far  greater  glory  is  it  for  me  to  die  unjustly  than  if  I  had  de- 
served this  fate.  Come  forward,  I  beg,  and  let  me  have  a 
priest,  in  order  that  I  may  speak  a  couple  of  words  with  him. 
I  do  not  indeed  stand  in  need  of  this,  for  I  have  already  made 
my  heart's  confession  to  my  Lord  God;  yet  I  should  like  to 
observe  the  ordinances  of  our  Holy  Mother  Church;  for 
though  she  has  done  me  this  abominable  wrong,  I  pardon 
her  with  all  my  soul.  So  come,  friend  Messer  Benedetto,  and 
despatch  my  business  before  I  lose  control  over  my  better 
instincts." 

After  I  had  uttered  these  words,  the  worthy  man  told 
the  guard  to  lock  the  door,  because  nothing  could  be  done 
without  his  presence.  He  then  repaired  to  the  house  of 
Signer  Pier  Luigi's  wife,  who  happened  to  be  in  company 
with  the  Duchess  of  whom  I  spoke  above.^    Presenting  him- 

'  The  wife  of  Pier  Luigi  Farnese  was  Jeronima,  daughter  of  Luigi 
Orsini,  Count  of  Pitigliano. 


MEMOIRS  221 

self  before  them  both,  he  spoke  as  follows:  "  My  most  illus- 
trious mistress,  I  entreat  you  for  the  love  of  God  to  tell  the 
Pope  that  he  must  send  some  one  else  to  pronounce  sentence 
upon  Benvcnuto  and  perform  my  office;  I  renounce  the  task, 
and  am  quite  decided  not  to  carry  it  through."  Then,  sighing, 
he  departed  with  the  strongest  signs  of  inward  sorrow.  The 
Duchess,  who  was  present,  frowned  and  said:  "So  this  is 
the  fine  justice  dealt  out  here  in  Rome  by  God's  Vicar!  The 
Duke,  my  late  husband,  particularly  esteemed  this  man  for 
his  good  qualities  and  eminent  abilities;  he  was  unwilling  to 
let  him  return  to  Rome,  and  would  gladly  have  kept  him 
close  to  his  own  person."  Upon  this  she  retired,  muttering 
words  of  indignation  and  displeasure.  Signor  Pier  Luigi's 
wife,  who  was  called  Signora  Jerolima,  betook  herself  to  the 
Pope,  and  threw  herself  upon  her  knees  before  him  in  the 
presence  of  several  cardinals.  She  pleaded  my  cause  so 
warmly  that  she  woke  the  Pope  to  shame;  whereupon  he 
said:  "  For  your  sake  we  will  leave  him  quiet;  yet  you  must 
know  that  we  had  no  ill-will  against  him."  These  words  he 
spoke  because  of  the  cardinals  who  were  around  him,  and  had 
listened  to  the  eloquence  of  that  brave-spirited  lady. 

Meanwhile  I  abode  in  extreme  discomfort,  and  my  heart 
kept  thumping  against  my  ribs.  Not  less  was  the  discom- 
fort of  the  men  appointed  to  discharge  the  evil  business  of 
my  execution ;  but  when  the  hour  for  dinner  was  already  past, 
they  betook  themselves  to  their  several  affairs,  and  my  meal 
was  also  served  me.  This  filled  me  with  a  glad  astonishment, 
and  I  exclaimed:  "  For  once  truth  has  been  stronger  than 
the  malice  of  the  stars!  I  pray  God,  therefore,  that,  if  it  be 
His  pleasure.  He  will  save  me  from  this  fearful  peril."  Then 
I  fell  to  eating  with  the  same  stout  heart  for  my  salvation  as 
I  had  previously  prepared  for  my  perdition.  I  dined  well, 
and  afterward  remained  without  seeing  or  hearing  any  one 
until  an  hour  after  nightfall.  At  that  time  the  Bargello  ar- 
rived with  a  large  part  of  his  guard,  and  had  me  replaced  in 
the  chair  which  brought  me  on  the  previous  evening  to  the 
prison.  He  spoke  very  kindly  to  me,  bidding  me  be  under 
no  apprehension;  and  bade  his  constables  take  good  care  not 
to  strike  against  my  broken  leg,  but  to  treat  me  as  though 
I  were  the  apple  of  their  eye.  The  men  obeyed,  and  brought 
me  to  the  castle  whence  I  had  escaped;  then,  when  we  had 


222  CELLINI 

mounted  to  the  keep,  they  left  me  shut  up  in  a  dungeon  open- 
ing upon  a  Httle  court  there  is  there. 

CXVII 

The  castellan,  meanwhile,  ill  and  afflicted  as  he  was,  had 
himself  transported  to  my  prison,  and  exclaimed:  "  You  see 
that  I  have  recaptured  you!"  "Yes,"  said  I,  "but  you  see 
that  I  escaped,  as  I  told  you  I  would.  And  if  I  had  not  been 
sold  by  a  Venetian  Cardinal,  under  Papal  guarantee,  for  the 
price  of  a  bishopric,  the  Pope  a  Roman  and  a  Farnese  (and 
both  of  them  have  scratched  with  impious  hands  the  face  of 
the  most  sacred  laws),  you  would  not  have  recovered  me. 
But  now  that  they  have  opened  this  vile  way  of  dealing,  do 
you  the  worst  you  can  in  your  turn;  I  care  for  nothing  in 
the  world."  The  wretched  man  began  shouting  at  the  top 
of  his  voice:  "  Ah,  woe  is  me!  woe  is  me!  It  is  all  the  same 
to  this  fellow  whether  he  lives  or  dies,  and  behold,  he  is  more 
fiery  than  when  he  was  in  health.  Put  him  down  there  below 
the  garden,  and  do  not  speak  to  me  of  him  again,  for  he  is 
the  destined  cause  of  my  death." 

So  I  was  taken  into  a  gloomy  dungeon  below  the  level  of 
a  garden,  which  swam  with  water,  and  was  full  of  big  spiders 
and  many  venomous  worms.  They  flung  me  a  wretched  mat- 
tress of  coarse  hemp,  gave  me  no  supper,  and  locked  four 
doors  upon  me.  In  that  condition  I  abode  until  the  nine- 
teenth hour  of  the  following  day.  Then  I  received  food,  and 
I  requested  my  jailors  to  give  me  some  of  my  books  to  read. 
None  of  them  spoke  a  word,  but  they  referred  my  prayer  to 
the  unfortunate  castellan,  who  had  made  inquiries  concern- 
ing what  I  said.  Next  morning  they  brought  me  an  Italian 
Bible  which  belonged  to  me,  and  a  copy  of  the  Chronicles  of 
Giovanni  Villani.  When  I  asked  for  certain  other  of  my 
books,  I  was  told  that  I  could  have  no  more,  and  that  I  had 
got  too  many  already. 

Thus,  then,  I  continued  to  exist  in  misery  upon  that  rotten 
mattress,  which  in  three  days  soaked  up  water  like  a  sponge. 
I  could  hardly  stir  because  of  my  broken  leg;  and  when  I 
had  to  get  out  of  bed,  I  crawled  on  all  fours  with  extreme 
distress.  For  one  hour  and  a  half  each  day  I  got  a  little  glim- 
mering of  light,  which  penetrated  that  unhappy  cavern  through 
a  very  narrow  aperture.     Only  for  so  short  a  space  of  time 


MEMOIRS  223 

could  I  read;  the  rest  of  the  day  and  night  I  abode  in  dark- 
ness, enduring  my  lot,  nor  ever  without  meditations  upon 
God  and  on  our  human  frailty.  I  thought  it  certain  that  a  few 
more  days  would  put  an  end  to  my  unlucky  life  in  that  sad 
place  and  in  that  miserable  manner.  Nevertheless,  as  well 
as  I  was  able,  I  comforted  my  soul  by  calling  to  mind  how 
much  more  painful  it  would  have  been,  on  passing  from  this 
life,  to  have  suffered  that  unimaginable  horror  of  the  hang- 
man's knife.  Now,  being  as  I  was,  I  should  depart  with  the 
anodyne  of  sleepiness,  which  robbed  death  of  half  its  former 
terrors.  Little  by  little  I  felt  my  vital  forces  waning,  until 
at  last  my  vigorous  temperament  had  become  adapted  to  that 
purgatory.  When  I  felt  it  quite  acclimatized,  I  resolved  to 
put  up  with  all  those  indescribable  discomforts  so  long  as  it 

held  out. 

CXVIII 

I  began  the  Bible  from  the  commencement,  reading  and 
reflecting  on  it  so  devoutly,  and  finding  in  it  such  deep  treas- 
ures of  delight,  that,  if  I  had  been  able,  I  should  have  done 
naught  else  but  study  it.  However,  light  was  wanting;  and 
the  thought  of  all  my  troubles  kept  recurring  and  gnawing 
at  me  in  the  darkness,  until  I  often  made  my  mind  up  to  put 
an  end  somehow  to  my  own  life.  They  did  not  allow  me  a 
knife,  however,  and  so  it  was  no  easy  matter  to  commit  sui- 
cide. Once,  notwithstanding,  I  took  and  propped  a  wooden 
pole  I  found  there,  in  position  like  a  trap.  I  meant  to  make 
it  topple  over  on  my  head,  and  it  would  certainly  have  dashed 
my  brains  out;  but  when  I  had  arranged  the  whole  machine, 
and  was  approaching  to  put  it  in  motion,  just  at  the  moment 
of  my  setting  my  hand  to  it,  I  was  seized  by  an  invisible 
power  and  flung  four  cubits  from  the  spot,  in  such  a  terror 
that  I  lay  half  dead.  Like  that  I  remained  from  dawn  until 
the  nineteenth  hour,  when  they  brought  my  food.  The  jailors 
must  have  visited  my  cell  several  times  without  my  taking 
notice  of  them;  for  when  at  last  I  heard  them,  Captain  San- 
drino  Monaldi  ^  had  entered,  and  I  heard  him  saying:  "Ah, 
unhappy  man!  behold  the  end  to  which  so  rare  a  genius  has 
come!"  Roused  by  these  words,  I  opened  mv  eyes,  and 
caught  sight  of  priests  with  long  gowns  on  their  backs,  who 

'  A  Florentine,  banished  in  1530  for  having  been  in  arms  against  the 
Medici. 


224 


CELLINI 


were  saying:  "Oh,  you  told  us  he  was  dead!"  Bozza  re- 
pHed:  "  Dead  I  found  him,  and  therefore  I  told  you  so."  Then 
they  lifted  me  from  where  I  lay,  and  after  shaking  up  the 
mattress,  which  was  now  as  soppy  as  a  dish  of  maccaroni, 
they  flung  it  outside  the  dungeon.  The  castellan,  when  these 
things  were  reported  to  him,  sent  me  another  mattress. 
Thereafter,  when  I  searched  my  memory  to  find  what  could 
have  diverted  me  from  that  design  of  suicide,  I  came  to  the 
conclusion  that  it  must  have  been  some  power  divine  and 
my  good  guardian  angel. 

CXIX 

During  the  following  night  there  appeared  to  me  in  dreams 
a  marvellous  being  in  the  form  of  a  most  lovely  youth,  who 
cried,  as  though  he  wanted  to  reprove  me:  "  Knowest  thou 
who  lent  thee  that  body,  which  thou  wouldst  have  spoiled 
before  its  time?"  I  seemed  to  answer  that  I  recognised  all 
things  pertaining  to  me  as  gifts  from  the  God  of  nature. 
"  So,  then,"  he  said,  "  thou  hast  contempt  for  His  handiwork, 
through  this  thy  will  to  spoil  it?  Commit  thyself  unto  His 
guidance,  and  lose  not  hope  in  His  great  goodness!  "  Much 
more  he  added,  in  words  of  marvellous  ef^cacy,  the  thou- 
sandth part  of  which  I  can  not  now  remember. 

I  began  to  consider  that  the  angel  of  my  vision  spoke 
the  truth.  So  I  cast  my  eyes  around  the  prison,  and  saw 
some  scraps  of  rotten  brick,  with  the  fragments  of  which, 
rubbing  one  against  the  other,  I  composed  a  paste.  Then, 
creeping  on  all  fours,  as  I  was  compelled  to  go,  I  crawled 
up  to  an  angle  of  my  dungeon  door,  and  gnawed  a  splinter 
from  it  with  my  teeth.  Having  achieved  this  feat,  I  waited 
till  the  light  came  on  my  prison;  that  was  from  the  hour 
of  twenty  and  a  half  to  twenty-one  and  a  half.  When  it  ar- 
rived, I  began  to  write,  the  best  I  could,  on  some  blank  pages 
in  my  Bible,  and  rebuked  the  regents  of  my  intellectual  self 
for  being  too  impatient  to  endure  this  life;  they  replied  to  my 
body  with  excuses  drawn  from  all  that  they  had  suffered; 
and  the  body  gave  them  hope  of  better  fortune.  To  this 
effect,  then,  by  way  of  dialogue,  T  wrote  as  follows: 

"  Ben7ienuto  in  the  body. 
"  Afflicted  repents  of  my  soul  ! 

Ah,  cruel  ye  !  have  ye  such  hate  of  life? 


MEMOIRS  225 

' '  The  Spirits  of  his  soul. 
"  If  Heaven  against  you  roll, 

Who  stands  for  us?  who  saves  us  in  the  strife? 
Let  us,  O  let  us  go  toward  better  life  ! 

^'^  Benvenuto. 

"  Nay,  go  not  yet  awhile  ! 

Ye  shall  be  happier  and  lighter  far — 

Heaven  gives  this  hope — than  ye  were  ever  yet! 

''I'kc  Spirits. 

'  We  will  remain  some  little  while. 

If  only  by  great  God  you  promised  are 

Such  grace  that  no  worse  woes  on  us  be  set." 

After  this  I  recovered  strength;  and  when  I  had  heartened 
up  myself,  I  continued  reading  in  the  Bible,  and  my  eyes 
became  so  used  to  that  darkness  that  I  could  now  read  for 
three  hours  instead  of  the  bare  hour  and  a  half  I  was  able  to 
employ  before. 

With  profound  astonishment  I  dwelt  upon  the  force  of 
God's  Spirit  in  those  men  of  great  simplicity,  who  believed 
so  fervently  that  He  would  bring  all  their  heart's  desire  to 
pass.  I  then  proceeded  to  reckon  in  my  own  case  too  on 
God's  assistance,  both  because  of  His  divine  power  and 
mercy,  and  also  because  of  my  own  innocence;  and  at  all 
hours,  sometimes  in  prayer  and  sometimes  in  communion 
with  God,  I  abode  in  those  high  thoughts  of  Him.  There 
flowed  into  my  soul  so  powerful  a  delight  from  these  reflec- 
tions upon  God,  that  I  took  no  further  thought  for  all  the 
anguish  I  had  suffered,  but  rather  spent  the  day  in  singing 
psalms  and  divers  other  compositions  on  the  theme  of  His 
divinity. 

I  was  greatly  troubled,  however,  by  one  particular  annoy- 
ance: my  nails  had  grown  so  long  that  I  could  not  touch 
my  body  without  wounding  it;  I  could  not  dress  myself  but 
what  they  turned  inside  or  out,  to  my  great  torment.  More- 
over, my  teeth  began  to  perish  in  my  mouth.  I  became  aware 
of  this  because  the  dead  teeth  being  pushed  out  by  the  living 
ones,  my  gums  were  gradually  perforated,  and  the  points  of 
the  roots  pierced  through  the  tops  of  their  cases.  When  I 
was  aware  of  this,  I  used  to  pull  one  out.  as  though  it  were 
a  weapon  from  a  scabbard,  without  any  pain  or  loss  of  blood. 
Very  many  of  them  did  I  lose  in  this  way.  Nevertheless,  I 
15 


226  CELLINI 

accommodated  myself  to  these  new  troubles  also;  at  times 
I  sang,  at  times  I  prayed,  and  at  times  I  wrote  by  means  of 
the  paste  of  brick-dust  I  have  described  above.  At  this  time 
I  began  composing  a  Capitolo  in  praise  of  my  prison,  relating 
in  it  all  the  accidents  which  had  befallen  me.  This  poem  I 
mean  to  insert  in  its  proper  place. 

cxx 

The  good  castellan  used  frequently  to  send  messengers  to 
find  out  secretly  what  I  was  doing.  So  it  happened  on  the 
last  day  of  July  that  I  was  rejoicing  greatly  by  myself  alone 
while  I  bethought  me  of  the  festival  they  keep  in  Rome  upon 
the  1st  of  August;  and  I  was  saying  to  myself:  "  In  former 
years  I  kept  the  feast  among  the  pleasures  and  the  frailties  of 
the  world;  this  year  I  shall  keep  it  in  communion  with  God. 
Oh,  how  far  more  happy  am  I  thus  than  I  was  then !  "  The 
persons  who  heard  me  speak  these  words  reported  them  to 
the  castellan.  He  was  greatly  annoyed,  and  exclaimed:  "Ah, 
God!  that  fellow  lives  and  triumphs  in  his  infinite  distress, 
while  I  lack  all  things  in  the  midst  of  comfort,  and  am  dying 
only  on  account  of  him!  Go  quickly,  and  fling  him  into  that 
deepest  of  the  subterranean  dungeons  where  the  preacher 
Foiano  was  starved  to  death.^  Perhaps  when  he  finds  himself 
in  such  ill  plight  he  will  begin  to  droop  his  crest." 

Captain  Sandrino  Monaldi  came  at  once  into  my  prison 
with  about  twenty  of  the  castellan's  servants.  They  found 
me  on  my  knees;  and  I  did  not  turn  at  their  approach,  but 
went  on  paying  my  orisons  before  a  God  the  Father,  sur- 
rounded with  angels,  and  a  Christ  arising  victorious  from  the 
grave,  which  I  had  sketched  upon  the  wall  with  a  little  piece 
of  charcoal  I  had  found  covered  up  with  earth.  This  was 
after  I  had  lain  four  months  upon  my  back  in  bed  with  my 
leg  broken,  and  had  so  often  dreamed  that  angels  came  and 
ministered  to  me,  that  at  the  end  of  those  four  months  the 
limb  became  as  sound  as  though  it  never  had  been  fractured. 
So  then  these  fellows  entered,  all  in  armour,  as  fearful  of  me 
as  though  I  were  a  poison-breathing  dragon.     The  captain 

'  Fra  Benedetto  da  Foiano  had  incurred  the  wrath  of  Pope  Clement 
VII  by  preaching  against  the  Medici  in  Florence.  He  was  sent  to  Rome 
and  imprisoned  in  a  noisome  dungeon  of  S.  Angelo  in  the  year  1530, 
where  Clement  made  him  perish  miserably  by  diminishing  his  food  and 
water  dally  till  he  died. 


MEMOIRS 


227 


spoke  as  follows:  "  You  must  be  aware  that  there  are  many 
of  us  here,  and  our  entrance  has  made  a  tumult  in  this  place, 
yet  you  do  not  turn  round."  When  I  heard  these  words,  I 
was  well  able  to  conceive  what  greater  harm  might  happen 
to  me;  but  being  used  and  hardened  to  misfortune,  I  said 
to  them:  "  Unto  this  God  who  supports  me,  to  Him  in  heaven 
I  have  turned  my  soul,  my  contemplation,  and  all  my  vital 
spirits;  to  you  I  have  turned  precisely  what  belongs  to  you. 
What  there  is  of  good  in  me,  you  are  not  worthy  to  behold, 
nor  can  you  touch  it.  Do  then  to  that  which  is  under  your 
control  all  the  evil  you  are  able."  The  captain,  in  some  alarm, 
and  not  knowing  what  I  might  be  on  the  point  of  doing,  said 
to  four  of  his  tallest  fellows :  "  Put  all  your  arms  aside." 
When  they  had  done  so,  he  added:  "  Now  upon  the  instant 
leap  on  him,  and  secure  him  well.  Do  you  think  he  is  the 
devil,  that  so  many  of  us  should  be  afraid  of  him?  Hold 
him  tight  now,  that  he  may  not  escape  you."  Seized  by  them 
with  force  and  roughly  handled,  and  anticipating  something 
far  worse  than  what  afterward  happened,  I  lifted  my  eyes  to 
Christ  and  said:  "  Oh,  just  God,  Thou  paidest  all  our  debts 
upon  that  high-raised  cross  of  Thine;  wherefore  then  must 
my  innocence  be  made  to  pay  the  debts  of  whom  I  do  not 
even  know?  Nevertheless,  Thy  will  be  done."  Meanwhile 
the  men  were  carrying  me  away  with  a  great  lighted  torch; 
and  I  thought  that  they  were  about  to  throw  me  down  the 
oubliette  of  Sammabo.  This  was  the  name  given  to  a  fearful 
place  which  had  swallowed  many  men  alive;  for  when  they 
are  cast  into  it,  they  fall  to  the  bottom  of  a  deep  pit  in  the 
foundations  of  the  castle.  This  did  not,  however,  happen 
to  me;  wherefore  I  thought  that  I  had  made  a  very  good  bar- 
gain when  they  placed  me  in  that  hideous  dungeon  I  have 
spoken  of,  where  Fra  Foiano  died  of  hunger,  and  left  me  there 
without  doing  me  further  injury. 

When  I  was  alone,  I  began  to  sing  a  "  De  profundis 
clamavi,"  a  "  Miserere,"  and  "  In  te  Domine  speravi."  Dur- 
ing the  whole  of  that  first  day  of  August  I  kept  festival  with 
God,  my  heart  rejoicing  ever  in  the  strength  of  hope  and  faith. 
On  the  second  day  they  drew  me  from  that  hole,  and  took 
me  back  again  to  the  prison  where  I  had  drawn  those  repre- 
sentations of  God.  On  arriving  there,  the  sight  of  them  filled 
me  with  such  sweetness  and  such  gladness  that  I  wept  abun- 


228  CELLINI 

dantly.  On  every  day  that  followed,  the  castellan  sent  to 
know  what  I  was  doing  and  saying.  The  Pope,  who  had 
heard  the  whole  history  (and  I  must  add  that  the  doctors 
had  already  given  the  castellan  over),  spoke  as  follows:  "  Be- 
fore my  castellan  dies  I  will  let  him  put  that  Benvenuto  to 
death  in  any  way  he  likes,  for  he  is  the  cause  of  his  death, 
and  so  the  good  man  shall  not  die  unrevenged."  On  hearing 
these  words  from  the  mouth  of  Duke  Pier  Luigi,  the  castellan 
replied:  "So,  then,  the  Pope  has  given  me  Benvenuto,  and 
wishes  me  to  take  my  vengeance  on  him?  Dismiss  the  matter 
from  your  mind,  and  leave  me  to  act."  If  the  heart  of  the 
Pope  was  ill-disposed  against  me,  that  of  the  castellan  was 
now  at  the  commencement  savage  and  cruel  in  the  extreme. 
At  this  juncture  the  invisible  being  who  had  diverted  me 
from  my  intention  of  suicide,  came  to  me,  being  still  invisible, 
but  with  a  clear  voice,  and  shook  me,  and  made  me  rise,  and 
said  to  me:  "Ah  me!  my  Benvenuto,  quick,  quick,  betake 
thyself  to  God  with  thy  accustomed  prayers,  and  cry  out 
loudly,  loudly!"  In  a  sudden  consternation  I  fell  upon  my 
knees,  and  recited  several  of  my  prayers  in  a  loud  voice; 
after  this  I  said  "Qui  habitat  in  adjutorio";  then  I  com- 
muned a  space  with  God ;  and  in  an  instant  the  same  clear  and 
open  voice  said  to  me:  "  Go  to  rest,  and  have  no  further 
fear!  "  The  meaning  of  this  was,  that  the  castellan,  after 
giving  the  most  cruel  orders  for  my  death,  suddenly  counter- 
manded them,  and  said :  "  Is  not  this  Benvenuto  the  man 
whom  I  have  so  warmly  defended,  whom  I  know  of  a  surety 
to  be  innocent,  and  who  has  been  so  greatly  wronged?  Oh, 
how  will  God  have  mercy  on  me  and  my  sins  if  I  do  not 
pardon  those  who  have  done  me  the  greatest  injuries?  Oh, 
why  should  I  injure  a  man  both  worthy  and  innocent,  who 
has  only  done  me  services  and  honour?  Go  to!  instead  of 
killing  him,  I  give  him  life  and  liberty:  and  in  my  will  I'll 
have  it  written  that  none  shall  demand  of  him  the  heavy  debt 
for  his  expenses  here  which  he  would  elsewise  have  to  pay." 
This  the  Pope  heard,  and  took  it  very  ill  indeed. 

CXXI 

I  meanwhile  continued  to  pray  as  usual,  and  to  write  my 
Capitolo,  and  every  night  I  was  visited  with  the  gladdest 
and  most  pleasant  dreams  that  could  be  possibly  imagined. 


MEMOIRS  229 

It  seemed  to  me  while  dreaming  that  I  was  always  in  the 
visible  company  of  that  being  whose  voice  and  touch,  while 
he  was  still  invisible,  I  had  so  often  felt.  To  him  I  made 
but  one  request,  and  this  I  urged  most  earnestly,  namely, 
that  he  would  bring  me  where  I  could  behold  the  sun.  I 
told  him  that  this  was  the  sole  desire  I  had,  and  that  if  I 
could  but  see  the  sun  once  only,  I  should  die  contented.  All 
the  disagreeable  circumstances  of  my  prison  had  become,  as 
it  were,  to  me  friendly  and  companionable;  not  one  of  them 
gave  me  annoyance.  Nevertheless,  I  ought  to  say  that  the 
castellan's  parasites,  who  were  waiting  for  him  to  hang  me 
from  the  battlement  whence  I  had  made  my  escape,  when 
they  saw  that  he  had  changed  his  mind  to  the  exact  opposite 
of  what  he  previously  threatened,  were  unable  to  endure  the 
disappointment.  Accordingly,  they  kept  continually  trying 
to  inspire  me  with  the  fear  of  imminent  death  by  means  of 
various  terrifying  hints.  But,  as  I  have  already  said,  I  had 
become  so  well  acquainted  with  troubles  of  this  sort  that  I 
was  incapable  of  fear,  and  nothing  any  longer  could  disturb 
me;  only  I  had  that  one  great  longing  to  behold  the  sphere 
of  the  sun,  if  only  in  a  dream. 

Thus  then,  while  I  spent  many  hours  a  day  in  prayer  with 
deep  emotion  of  the  spirit  toward  Christ,  I  used  always  to 
say:  "Ah,  very  Son  of  God!  I  pray  Thee  by  Thy  birth,  by 
Thy  death  upon  the  cross,  and  by  Thy  glorious  resurrection, 
that  Thou  wilt  deign  to  let  me  see  the  sun,  if  not  otherwise, 
at  least  in  dreams.  But  if  Thou  wilt  grant  me  to  behold  it 
with  these  mortal  eyes  of  mine,  I  engage  myself  to  come  and 
visit  Thee  at  Thy  holy  sepulchre."  This  vow  and  these  my 
greatest  prayers  to  God  I  made  upon  the  2d  of  October  in 
the  year  1539.  Upon  the  following  morning,  which  was  the 
3d  of  October,  I  woke  at  daybreak,  perhaps  an  hour  before 
the  rising  of  the  sun.  Dragging  myself  from  the  miserable 
lair  in  which  I  lay,  I  put  some  clothes  on,  for  it  had  begun  to 
be  cold;  then  I  prayed  more  devoutly  than  ever  I  had  done 
in  the  past,  fervently  imploring  Christ  that  He  would  at  least 
grant  me  the  favour  of  knowing  by  divine  inspiration  what 
sin  I  was  so  sorely  expiating;  and  since  His  Divine  Majesty 
had  not  deemed  me  worthy  of  beholding  the  sun  even  in  a 
dream,  I  besought  Him  to  let  me  know  the  cause  of  my  pun- 
ishment. 


230 


CELLINI 


CXXII 


I  had  barely  uttered  these  words,  when  that  invisible 
being,  like  a  whirlwind,  caught  me  up  and  bore  me  away 
into  a  large  room,  where  he  made  himself  visible  to  my 
eyes  in  human  form,  appearing  like  a  young  man  whose 
beard  is  just  growing,  with  a  face  of  indescribable  beauty,  but 
austere,  not  wanton.  He  bade  me  look  around  the  room, 
and  said:  "The  crowd  of  men  thou  seest  in  this  place  are 
all  those  who  up  to  this  day  have  been  born  and  afterward 
have  died  upon  the  earth."  Thereupon  I  asked  him  why 
he  brought  me  hither,  and  he  answered:  "  Come  with  me 
and  thou  shalt  soon  behold."  In  my  hand  I  had  a  poniard, 
and  upon  my  back  a  coat  of  mail;  and  so  he  led  me  through 
that  vast  hall,  pointing  out  the  people  who  were  walking 
by  innumerable  thousands  up  and  down,  this  way  and  that. 
He  led  me  onward,  and  went  forth  in  front  of  me  through 
a  little  low  door  into  a  place  which  looked  like  a  narrow 
street;  and  when  he  drew  me  after  him  into  the  street,  at 
the  moment  of  leaving  the  hall,  behold  I  was  disarmed  and 
clothed  in  a  white  shirt,  with  nothing  on  my  head,  and  I 
was  walking  on  the  right  hand  of  my  companion.  Finding 
myself  in  this  condition,  I  was  seized  with  wonder,  because 
I  did  not  recognise  the  street;  and  when  I  lifted  my  eyes, 
I  discerned  that  the  splendour  of  the  sun  was  striking  on  a 
wall,  as  it  were  a  house-front,  just  above  my  head.  Then  I 
said:  "Oh,  my  friend!  what  must  I  do  in  order  to  be  able 
to  ascend  so  high  that  I  may  gaze  upon  the  sphere  of  the 
sun  himself?  "  He  pointed  out  some  huge  stairs  which  were 
on  my  right  hand,  and  said  to  me:  "  Go  up  thither  by  thy- 
self." Quitting  his  side,  I  ascended  the  stairs  backward,  and 
gradually  began  to  come  within  the  region  of  the  sunlight. 
Then  I  hastened  my  steps,  and  went  on,  always  walking  back- 
ward as  I  have  described,  until  I  discovered  the  whole  sphere 
of  the  sun.  The  strength  of  his  rays,  as  is  their  wont,  first 
made  me  close  my  eyes;  but  becoming  aware  of  my  misdoing, 
I  opened  them  wide,  and  gazing  steadfastly  at  the  sun.  ex- 
claimed: "Oh,  my  sun,  for  whom  I  have  so  passionately 
yearned!  Albeit  your  rays  may  blind  me,  I  do  not  wish  to 
look  on  anything  again  but  this!"  So  I  stayed  awhile  with 
my  eyes  fixed  steadily  on  him;  and  after  a  brief  space  I  beheld 


MEMOIRS 


231 


in  one  moment  the  whole  might  of  those  great  burning  rays 
fling  themselves  upon  the  left  side  of  the  sun;  so  that  the  orb 
remained  quite  clear  without  its  rays,  and  I  was  able  to  con- 
template it  with  vast  deligiit.  It  seemed  to  me  something 
marvellous  that  the  rays  should  be  removed  in  that  manner. 
Then  I  reflected  what  divine  grace  it  was  which  God  had 
granted  me  that  morning,  and  cried  aloud:  "Oh,  wonderful 
Thy  power!  oh,  glorious  Thy  virtue!  How  far  greater  is  the 
grace  which  Thou  art  granting  me  than  that  which  I  ex- 
pected!" The  sun  without  his  rays  appeared  to  me  to  be 
a  bath  of  the  purest  molten  gold,  neither  more  nor  less.  While 
I  stood  contemplating  this  wondrous  thing,  I  noticed  that 
the  middle  of  the  sphere  began  to  swell,  and  the  swollen 
surface  grew,  and  suddenly  a  Christ  upon  the  cross  formed 
itself  out  of  the  same  substance  as  the  sun.  He  bore  the 
aspect  of  divine  benignity,  with  such  fair  grace  that  the  mind 
of  man  could  not  conceive  the  thousandth  part  of  it ;  and  while 
I  gazed  in  ecstasy,  I  shouted:  "A  miracle!  a  miracle!  O 
God!  O  clemency  Divine!  O  immeasurable  Goodness!  what 
is  it  Thou  hast  deigned  this  day  to  show  me!  "  While  I  was 
gazing  and  exclaiming  thus,  the  Christ  moved  toward  that 
part  where  his  rays  were  settled,  and  the  middle  of  the  sun 
once  more  bulged  out  as  it  had  done  before;  the  boss  ex- 
panded, and  suddenly  transformed  itself  into  the  shape  of  a 
most  beautiful  Madonna,  who  appeared  to  be  sitting  en- 
throned on  high,  holding  her  child  in  her  arms  with  an  atti- 
tude of  the  greatest  charm  and  a  smile  upon  her  face.  On 
each  side  of  her  was  an  angel,  whose  beauty  far  surpasses 
man's  imagination.  I  also  saw  within  the  rondure  of  the 
sun,  upon  the  right  hand,  a  figure  robed  like  a  priest;  this 
turned  its  back  to  me,  and  kept  its  face  directed  to  the  Ma- 
donna and  the  Christ.  All  these  things  I  beheld,  actual,  clear, 
and  vivid,  and  kept  returning  thanks  to  the  glory  of  God  as 
loud  as  I  was  able.  The  marvellous  apparition  remained  be- 
fore me  little  more  than  half  a  quarter  of  an  hour;  then  it 
dissolved,  and  I  was  carried  back  to  my  dark  lair. 

I  began  at  once  to  shout  aloud:  "  The  virtue  of  God  hath 
deigned  to  show  me  all  His  glory,  the  which  perchance  no 
mortal  eye  hath  ever  seen  before.  Therefore  I  know  surely 
that  I  am  free  and  fortunate  and  in  the  grace  of  God;  but 
you  miscreants  shall  be  miscreants  still,  accursed,  and  in  the 


232  CELLINI 

wrath  of  God.  Mark  this,  for  I  am  certain  of  it,  that  on  the 
clay  of  All  Saints,  the  day  upon  which  I  was  born  in  1500, 
on  the  first  of  November,  at  four  hours  after  nightfall,  on  that 
day  which  is  coming  you  will  be  forced  to  lead  me  from  this 
gloomy  dungeon;  less  than  this  you  will  not  be  able  to  do, 
because  I  have  seen  it  with  these  eyes  of  mine  and  in  that 
throne  of  God.  The  priest  who  kept  his  face  turned  to  God 
and  his  back  to  me,  that  priest  was  S.  Peter,  pleading  my 
cause,  for  the  shame  he  felt  that  such  foul  wrongs  should 
be  done  to  Christians  in  his  own  house.  You  may  go  and 
tell  it  to  whom  you  like;  for  none  on  earth  has  the  power 
to  do  me  harm  henceforward;  and  tell  that  lord  who  keeps 
me  here,  that  if  he  will  give  me  wax  or  paper  and  the 
means  of  portraying  this  glory  of  God  which  was  revealed 
to  me,  most  assuredly  shall  I  convince  him  of  that  which 
now  perhaps  he  holds  in  doubt," 

CXXIII 

The  physicians  gave  the  castellan  no  hope  of  his  recovery, 
yet  he  remained  with  a  clear  intellect,  and  the  humours  which 
used  to  afflict  him  every  year  had  passed  away.  He  devoted 
himself  entirely  to  the  care  of  his  soul,  and  his  conscience 
seemed  to  smite  him,  because  he  felt  that  I  had  suffered  and 
was  suffering  a  grievous  wrong.  The  Pope  received  informa- 
tion from  him  of  the  extraordinary  things  which  I  related; 
in  answer  to  which  his  Holiness  sent  word — as  one  who  had 
no  faith  either  in  God  or  aught  beside — that  I  was  mad,  and 
that  he  must  do  his  best  to  mend  his  health.  When  the  castel- 
lan received  this  message,  he  sent  to  cheer  me  up,  and  fur- 
nished me  with  writing  materials  and  wax,  and  certain  little 
wooden  instruments  employed  in  working  wax,  adding  many 
words  of  courtesy,  w'hich  were  reported  by  one  of  his  serv- 
ants who  bore  me  good-will.  This  man  was  totally  the  oppo- 
site of  that  rascally  gang  who  had  wished  to  see  me  hanged. 
I  took  the  paper  and  the  wax,  and  began  to  work;  and  while 
I  was  working  I  wrote  the  following  sonnet  addressed  to  the 
castellan: 

"  If  I,  my  lord,  could  show  to  you  the  truth, 
Of  that  Eternal  Liqht  to  me  by  Heaven 
In  this  low  life  revealed,  you  sure  had  given 
More  heed  to  mine  than  to  a  monarch's  sooth. 


1 


MEMOIRS  233 

"  Ah  !  could  the  Pastor  of  Christ's  flock  in  ruth 

Believe  how  God  this  soul  with  sight  hath  shriven 
Of  glory  unto  which  no  wight  hath  striven 
Ere  he  escaped  earth's  cave  of  care  uncouth  ; 

"  The  gates  of  Justice,  holy  and  austere, 

Would  roll  asunder,  and  rude  impious  Rage 

Fall  chained  with  shrieks  that  should  assail  the  skies. 

"  Had  I  but  light,  ah  me  !  my  art  should  rear 
A  monument  of  Heaven's  high  equipage  ! 

Nor  should  my  misery  bear  so  grim  a  guise." 

CXXIV 

On  the  following  day,  when  the  servant  of  the  castellan 
who  was  my  friend  brought  me  my  food,  I  gave  him  this 
sonnet  copied  out  in  writing.  Without  informing  the  other 
ill-disposed  servants  who  were  my  enemies,  he  handed  it  to 
the  castellan.  At  that  time  this  worthy  man  would  gladly 
have  granted  me  my  liberty,  because  he  fancied  that  the  great 
wrong  done  to  me  was  a  main  cause  of  his  death.  He  took 
the  sonnet,  and  having  read  it  more  than  once,  exclaimed: 
"  These  are  neither  the  words  nor  the  thoughts  of  a  madman, 
but  rather  of  a  sound  and  worthy  fellow."  Without  delay 
he  ordered  his  secretary  to  take  it  to  the  Pope,  and  place  it 
in  his  own  hands,  adding  a  request  for  my  deliverance. 

While  the  secretary  was  on  his  way  with  my  sonnet  to 
the  Pope,  the  castellan  sent  me  lights  for  day  and  night,  to- 
gether with  all  the  conveniences  one  could  wish  for  in  that 
place.  The  result  of  this  was  that  I  began  to  recover  from 
my  physical  depression,  which  had  reached  a  very  serious 
degree. 

The  Pope  read  the  sonnet  several  times.  Then  he  sent 
word  to  the  castellan  that  he  meant  presently  to  do  what 
would  be  pleasing  to  him.  Certainly  the  Pope  had  no  un- 
willingness to  release  me  then;  but  Signer  Pier  Luigi,  his 
son.  as  it  were  in  the  Pope's  despite,  kept  me  there  by  force. 

The  death  of  the  castellan  was  drawing  near;  and  while 
I  was  engaged  in  drawing  and  modelling  that  miracle  which 
I  had  seen,  upon  the  morning  of  All  Saints'  day  he  sent 
his  nephew,  Piero  Ugolini,  to  show  me  certain  jewels.  No 
sooner  had  I  set  eyes  on  them  than  I  exclaimed :  "  This 
is  the  countersign  of  my  deliverance!"  Then  the  young 
man,  who  was  not  a  person  of  much  intelligence,  began  to 


234 


CELLINI 


say:  "Never  think  of  that,  Benvenuto!  "  I  replied:  "Take 
your  gems  away,  for  I  am  so  treated  here  that  I  have  no 
light  to  see  by  except  what  this  murky  cavern  gives,  and  that 
is  not  enough  to  test  the  quahty  of  precious  stones.  But,  as 
regards  my  dehverance  from  this  dungeon,  the  day  will  not 
end  before  you  come  to  fetch  me  out.  It  shall  and  must  be 
so,  and  you  will  not  be  able  to  prevent  it,"  The  man  de- 
parted, and  had  me  locked  in;  but  after  he  had  remained 
away  two  hours  by  the  clock,  he  returned  without  armed  men, 
bringing  only  a  couple  of  lads  to  assist  my  movements;  so 
after  this  fashion  he  conducted  me  to  the  spacious  rooms 
which  I  had  previously  occupied  (that  is  to  say,  in  1538), 
where  I  obtained  all  the  conveniences  I  asked  for. 

CXXV 

After  the  lapse  of  a  few  days,  the  castellan,  who  now  be- 
lieved that  I  was  at  large  and  free,  succumbed  to  his  disease 
and  departed  this  life.  In  his  room  remained  his  brother, 
Messer  Antonio  Ugolini,  who  had  informed  the  deceased  gov- 
ernor that  I  was  duly  released.  From  what  I  learned,  this 
Messer  Antonio  received  commission  from  the  Pope  to  let  me 
occupy  that  commodious  prison  until  he  had  decided  what  to 
do  with  me. 

Messer  Durante  of  Brescia,  whom  I  have  previously  men- 
tioned, engaged  the  soldier  (formerly  druggist  of  Prato)  to 
administer  some  deadly  liquor  in  my  food;  the  poison  was  to 
work  slowly,  producing  its  effect  at  the  end  of  four  or  five 
months.  They  resolved  on  mixing  pounded  diamond  with 
my  victuals.  Now  the  diamond  is  not  a  poison  in  any  true 
sense  of  the  word,  but  its  incomparable  hardness  enables  it, 
unlike  ordinary  stones,  to  retain  very  acute  angles.  When 
every  other  stone  is  pounded,  that  extreme  sharpness  of  edge 
is  lost;  their  fragments  becoming  blunt  and  rounded.  The 
diamond  alone  preserves  its  trenchant  qualities;  wherefore,  if 
it  chances  to  enter  the  stomach  together  with  food,  the  peri- 
staltic motion  needful  to  digestion  brings  it  into  contact  with 
the  coats  of  the  stomach  and  the  bowels,  where  it  sticks,  and 
by  the  action  of  fresh  food  forcing  it  farther  inward,  after 
some  time  perforates  the  organs.  This  eventually  causes 
death.  Any  other  sort  of  stone  or  glass  mingled  with  the  food 
has  not  the  power  to  attach  itself,  but  passes  onward  with 


MEMOIRS 


235 


the  victuals.  Now  Messer  Durante  entrusted  a  diamond  of 
trifling  value  to  one  of  the  guards;  and  it  is  said  that  a  cer- 
tain Lione,  a  goldsmith  of  Arezzo,  my  great  enemy,  was  com- 
missioned to  pound  it.^  The  man  happened  to  be  very  poor, 
and  the  diamond  was  worth  perhaps  some  scores  of  crowns. 
He  told  the  guard  that  the  dust  he  gave  him  back  was  the 
diamond  in  question  properly  ground  down.  The  morning 
when  I  took  it,  they  mixed  it  with  all  I  had  to  eat;  it  was  a 
Friday,  and  I  had  it  in  salad,  sauce,  and  pottage.  That  morn- 
ing I  ate  heartily,  for  I  had  fasted  on  the  previous  evening; 
and  this  day  was  a  festival.  It  is  true  that  I  felt  the  victuals 
scrunch  beneath  my  teeth;  but  I  was  not  thinking  about 
knaveries  of  this  sort.  When  I  had  finished,  some  scraps 
of  salad  remained  upon  my  plate,  and  certain  very  fine  and 
glittering  splinters  caught  my  eye  among  these  remnants. 
I  collected  them,  and  took  them  to  the  window,  which  let  a 
flood  of  light  into  the  room;  and  while  I  was  examining 
them,  I  remembered  that  the  food  I  ate  that  morning  had 
scrunched  more  than  usual.  On  applying  my  senses  strictly 
to  the  matter,  the  verdict  of  my  eyesight  was  that  they  were 
certainly  fragments  of  pounded  diamond.  Upon  this  I  gave 
myself  up  without  doubt  as  dead,  and  in  my  sorrow  had  re- 
course with  pious  heart  to  holy  prayers.  I  had  resolved  the 
question,  and  thought  that  I  was  doomed.  For  the  space  of 
a  whole  hour  I  prayed  fervently  to  God,  returning  thanks  to 
Him  for  so  merciful  a  death.  Since  my  stars  had  sentenced 
me  to  die,  I  thought  it  no  bad  bargain  to  escape  from  life  so 
easily.  I  was  resigned,  and  blessed  the  world  and  all  the 
years  which  I  had  passed  in  it.  Now  I  was  returning  to  a 
better  kingdom  with  the  grace  of  God,  the  which  I  thought 
I  had  most  certainly  acquired. 

While  I  stood  revolving  these  thoughts  in  my  mind,  I  held 
in  my  hand  some  flimsy  particles  of  the  reputed  diamond, 
whicTi  of  a  truth  I  firmly  believed  to  be  such.  Now  hope  is 
immortal  in  the  human  breast;  therefore  I  felt  myself,  as  it 
were,  lured  onward  by  a  gleam  of  idle  expectation.  Accord- 
ingly, I  took  up  a  little  knife  and  a  few  of  those  particles,  and 
placed  them  on  an  iron  bar  of  my  prison.     Then  I  brought 

'  The  name  of  Leone  Leoni  is  otherwise  known  as  a  goldsmith  and 
bronze-caster.  He  made  the  tomb  for  Giangiacomo  de'  Medici,  II  Me- 
dighino,  in  the  Cathedral  of  Milan. 


236  CELLINI 

the  knife's  point  with  a  slow  strong  grinding  pressure  to  bear 
upon  the  stone,  and  felt  it  crumble.  Examining  the  sub- 
stance with  my  eyes,  I  saw  that  it  was  so.  In  a  moment  new 
hope  took  possession  of  my  soul,  and  I  exclaimed:  "  Here 
I  do  not  find  my  true  foe,  Messer  Durante,  but  a  piece  of  bad 
soft  stone,  which  can  not  do  me  any  harm  whatever!  "  Pre- 
viously I  had  been  resolved  to  remain  quiet  and  to  die  in 
peace ;  now  I  revolved  other  plans ;  but  first  I  rendered  thanks 
to  God  and  blessed  poverty;  for  though  poverty  is  oftentimes 
the  cause  of  bringing  men  to  death,  on  this  occasion  it  had 
been  the  very  cavise  of  my  salvation.  I  mean  in  this  way: 
Messer  Durante,  my  enemy,  or  whoever  it  was,  gave  a  dia- 
mond to  Lione  to  pound  for  me  of  the  worth  of  more  than 
a  hundred  crowns;  poverty  induced  him  to  keep  this  for 
himself,  and  to  pound  for  me  a  greenish  beryl  of  the  value 
of  two  carlins,  thinking  perhaps,  because  it  also  was  a  stone, 
that  it  would  work  the  same  effect  as  the  diamond. 

CXXVI 

At  this  time  the  Bishop  of  Pavia,  brother  of  the  Count 
of  San  Secondo,  and  commonly  called  Monsignor  de'  Rossi 
of  Palma,  happened  to  be  imprisoned  in  the  castle  for  some 
troublesome  affairs  at  Pavia.^  Knowing  him  to  iSe  my  friend, 
I  thrust  my  head  out  of  the  hole  in  my  cell,  and  called  him 
with  a  loud  voice,  crying  that  those  thieves  had  given  me  a 
pounded  diamond  with  the  intention  of  killing  me.  I  also 
sent  some  of  the  splinters  which  I  had  preserved,  by  the  hand 
of  one  of  his  servants,  for  him  to  see.  I  did  not  disclose 
my  discovery  that  the  stone  was  not  a  diamond,  but  told  him 
that  they  had  most  assuredly  poisoned  me,  after  the  death 
of  that  most  worthy  man  the  castellan.  During  the  short 
space  of  time  T  had  to  live,  I  begged  him  to  allow  me  one  loaf 
a  day  from  his  own  stores,  seeing  that  I  had  resolved  to  eat 
nothing  which  came  from  them.  To  this  request  he  answered 
that  he  would  supply  me  with  victuals. 

Messer  Antonio,  who  was  certainly  not  cognisant  of  the 
plot  against  my  life,  stirred  up  a  great  noise,  and  demanded 
to  see  the  pounded  stone,  being  also  persuaded  that  it  was 
a  diamond;  but  on   reflection   that  the   Pope  was  probably 

'  Gio.   Girolamo   de'    Rossi,   a   poet   and    historian    of   secondary  im- 
portance. 


MEMOIRS 


237 


at  the  bottom  of  the  affair,  he  passed  it  over  lightly  after 
giving  his  attention  to  the  incident. 

Henceforth  I  ate  the  victuals  sent  me  by  the  Bishop,  and 
continued  writing  my  Capitolo  on  the  prison,  into  which  I 
inserted  daily  all  the  new  events  which  happened  to  me,  point 
by  point.  But  Messer  Antonio  also  sent  me  food;  and  he 
did  this  by  the  hand  of  that  Giovanni  of  Prato,  the  druggist, 
then  soldier  in  the  castle,  whom  I  have  previously  mentioned. 
He  was  a  deadly  foe  of  mine,  and  was  the  man  who  had  ad- 
ministered the  powdered  diamond.  So  I  told  him  that  I 
would  partake  of  nothing  he  brought  me  unless  he  tasted  it 
before  my  eyes.  The  man  replied  that  Popes  have  their  meat 
tasted.  I  answered:  "  Noblemen  are  bound  to  taste  the  meat 
for  Popes;  in  like  measure,  you,  soldier,  druggist,  peasant 
from  Prato,  are  bound  to  taste  the  meat  for  a  Florentine  of 
my  station."  He  retorted  with  coarse  words,  which  I  was 
not  slow  to  pay  back  in  kind. 

Now  Messer  Antonio  felt  a  certain  shame  for  his  be- 
haviour; he  had  it  also  in  his  mind  to  make  me  pay  the  costs 
which  the  late  castellan,  poor  man,  remitted  in  my  favour. 
So  he  hunted  out  another  of  his  servants,  who  was  my  friend, 
and  sent  me  food  by  this  man's  hands.  The  meat  was  tasted 
for  me  now  with  good  grace,  and  no  need  for  altercation. 
The  servant  in  question  told  me  that  the  Pope  w-as  being 
pestered  every  day  by  Monsignor  di  Morluc,  who  kept  asking 
for  my  extradition  on  the  part  of  the  French  King.  The 
Pope,  however,  showed  little  disposition  to  give  me  up;  and 
Cardinal  Farnese,  formerly  my  friend  and  patron,  had  de- 
clared that  I  ought  not  to  reckon  on  issuing  from  that  prison 
for  some  length  of  time.'  I  replied  that  I  should  get  out  in 
spite  of  them  all.  The  excellent  young  fellow  besought  me 
to  keep  quiet,  and  not  to  let  such  words  of  mine  be  heard,  for 
they  might  do  me  some  grave  injury;  having  firm  confidence 
in  God,  it  was  my  duty  to  await  His  mercy,  remaining  in 
the  meanwhile  tranquil.  I  answered  that  the  power  and  good- 
ness of  God  are  not  bound  to  stand  in  awe  before  the  malign 

forces  of  iniquitv. 

CXXVII 

A  few  days  had   passed  when   the   Cardinal   of  Ferrara 

arrived  in  Rome.     He  went  to  pay  his  respects  to  the  Pope, 

'  This  was  the  Cardinal  Alessandro,  son  of  Pier  Luigi  Farnese. 


238 


CELLINI 


and  the  Pope  detained  him  up  to  supper-time.  Now  the 
Pope  was  a  man  of  great  talent  for  affairs,  and  he  wanted 
to  talk  at  his  ease  with  the  Cardinal  about  French  politics. 
Everybody  knows  that  folk,  when  they  are  feasting  together, 
say  things  which  they  would  otherwise  retain.  This  therefore 
happened.  The  great  King  Francis  was  most  frank  and  lib- 
eral in  all  his  dealings,  and  the  Cardinal  was  well  acquainted 
with  his  temper.  Therefore  the  latter  could  indulge  the  Pope 
beyond  his  boldest  expectations.  This  raised  his  Holiness  to 
a  high  pitch  of  merriment  and  gladness,  all  the  more  because 
he  was  accustomed  to  drink  freely  once  a  week,  and  went 
indeed  to  vomit  after  his  indulgence.  When,  therefore,  the 
Cardinal  observed  that  the  Pope  was  well  disposed,  and  ripe 
to  grant  favours,  he  begged  for  me  at  the  King's  demand, 
pressing  the  matter  hotly,  and  proving  that  his  Majesty  had 
it  much  at  heart.  Upon  this  the  Pope  laughed  aloud;  he 
felt  the  moment  for  his  vomit  at  hand;  the  excessive  quantity 
of  wine  which  he  had  drunk  was  also  operating;  so  he  said: 
"  On  the  spot,  this  instant,  you  shall  take  him  to  your  house." 
Then,  having  given  express  orders  to  this  purpose,  he  rose 
from  table.  The  Cardinal  immediately  sent  for  me,  before 
Signor  Pier  Luigi  could  get  wind  of  the  affair;  for  it  was 
certain  that  he  would  not  have  allowed  me  to  be  loosed  from 
prison. 

The  Pope's  mandatary  came  together  with  two  great  gen- 
tlemen of  the  Cardinal's,  and  when  four  o'clock  of  the  night 
was  passed,  they  removed  me  from  my  prison,  and  brought 
me  into  the  presence  of  the  Cardinal,  who  received  me  with 
indescribable  kindness.  I  was  well  lodged,  and  left  to  enjoy 
the  comforts  of  my  situation. 

Messer  Antonio,  the  old  castellan's  brother,  and  his  suc- 
cessor in  the  office,  insisted  on  extracting  from  me  the  costs 
for  food  and  other  fees  and  perquisites  claimed  by  sheriffs 
and  such  fry,  paying  no  heed  to  his  predecessor's  will  in  my 
behalf.  This  affair  cost  me  several  scores  of  crowns;  but  I 
paid  them,  because  the  Cardinal  told  me  to  be  well  upon 
my  guard  if  I  wanted  to  preserve  my  life,  adding  that  had  he 
not  extracted  me  that  evening  from  the  prison,  I  should  never 
have  got  out.  Indeed,  he  had  already  been  informed  that 
the  Pope  greatly  regretted  having  let  me  go. 


MEMOIRS  239 


CXXVIII 


I  am  now  obliged  to  take  a  step  backward,  in  order  to 
resume  the  thread  of  some  events  which  will  be  found  in 
my  Capitolo.  While  I  was  sojourning  those  few  days  in 
the  chamber  of  the  Cardinal,  and  afterward  in  the  Pope's 
private  garden,  there  came  among  my  other  friends  to  visit 
me  a  cashier  of  Messer  Bindo  Altoviti,  who  was  called  Ber- 
nardo Galluzzi.  I  had  entrusted  to  him  a  sum  of  several 
hundred  crowns,  and  the  young  man  sought  me  out  in  the 
Pope's  garden,  expressing  his  wish  to  give  back  this  money 
to  the  uttermost  farthing.  I  answered  that  I  did  not  know 
where  to  place  my  property,  either  with  a  dearer  friend  or 
in  a  place  that  seemed  to  me  more  safe.  He  showed  the 
strongest  possible  repugnance  to  keeping  it,  and  I  was,  as  it 
were,  obliged  to  force  him.  Now  that  I  had  left  the  castle 
for  the  last  time,  I  discovered  that  poor  Bernardo  Galluzzi 
was  ruined,  whereby  I  lost  my  money.  Now  while  I  was 
still  imprisoned  in  that  dungeon,  I  had  a  terrible  dream,  in 
which  it  seemed  to  me  that  words  of  the  greatest  consequence 
were  written  with  a  pen  upon  my  forehead;  the  being  who 
did  this  to  me  repeated  at  least  three  times  that  I  should 
hold  my  tongue  and  not  report  the  words  to  any  one.  When 
I  awoke  I  felt  that  my  forehead  had  been  meddled  with.  In 
my  Capitolo  upon  the  prison  I  have  related  many  incidents 
of  this  sort.  Among  others,  it  was  told  me  (I  not  knowing 
what  I  then  prophesied)  how  everything  which  afterward 
happened  to  Signor  Pier  Luigi  would  take  place,  so  clearly 
and  so  circumstantially  that  I  am  under  the  persuasion  it 
was  an  angel  from  heaven  who  informed  me.  I  will  not  omit 
to  relate  another  circumstance  also,  which  is  perhaps  the  most 
remarkable  which  has  ever  happened  to  any  one.  I  do  so 
in  order  to  justify  the  divinity  of  God  and  of  His  secrets, 
who  deigned  to  grant  me  that  great  favour;  for  ever  since 
the  time  of  my  strange  vision  until  now  an  aureole  of  glory 
(marvellous  to  relate)  has  rested  on  my  head.  This  is  visible 
to  every  sort  of  men  to  whom  I  have  chosen  to  point  it  out; 
but  those  have  been  very  few.  This  halo  can  be  observed 
above  my  shadow  in  the  morning  from  the  rising  of  the  sun 
for  about  two  hours,  and  far  better  when  the  grass  is  drenched 
with  dew.     It  is  also  visible  at  evening  about  simset.     I  be- 


/ 


240 


CELLINI 


came  aware  of  it  in  France  at  Paris;  for  the  air  in  those  parts 
is  so  much  freer  from  mist,  that  one  can  see  it  there  far  better 
manifested  than  in  Italy,  mists  being  far  more  frequent  among 
us.  However,  I  am  always  able  to  see  it  and  to  show  it  to 
others,  but  not  so  well  as  in  the  country  I  have  mentioned. 

Now  I  will  set  forth  the  Capitolo  I  wrote  in  prison,  and 
in  praise  of  the  said  prison;  after  that  I  will  follow  the  course 
of  the  good  and  evil  things  which  have  happened  to  me  from 
time  to  time;  and  I  mean  also  to  relate  what  happens  in  the 
future. 

THIS   CAPITOLO    I   WRITE   TO   LUCA    MARTINI, 
ADDRESSING  HIM  IN   IT  AS  WILL  APPEAR. 

Whoso  would  know  the  power  of  God's  dominion. 

And  how  a  man  resembles  that  high  good. 
Must  lie  in  prison,  is  my  firm  opinion  : 

On  grievous  thoughts  and  cares  of  home  must  brood. 

Oppressed  with  carking  pains  in  flesh  and  bone, 
Far  from  his  native  land  full  many  a  rood. 

If  you  would  fain  by  worthy  deeds  be  known. 
Seek  to  be  prisoned  without  cause,  lie  long, 
And  find  no  friend  to  listen  to  your  moan. 

See  that  men  rob  you  of  your  all  by  wrong  ; 

Add  perils  to  your  life  ;  be  used  with  force, 
Hopeless  of  help,  by  brutal  foes  and  strong. 

Be  driven  at  length  to  some  mad  desperate  course  ; 

Burst  from  your  dungeon,  leap  the  castle  wall  ; 
Recaptured,  find  the  prison  ten  times  worse. 

Now  listen,  Luca,  to  the  best  of  all  ! 

Your  leg's  been  broken  ;  you've  been  bought  and  sold ; 
Your  dungeon's  dripping  ;  you've  no  cloak  or  shawl. 

Never  one  friendly  word  ;  your  victuals  cold 

Are  brought  with  sorry  news  by  some  base  groom 
Of  Prato — soldier  now — druggist  of  old. 

Mark  well  how  Glory  steeps  her  sons  in  gloom  ! 

You  have  no  seat  to  sit  on,  save  the  stool  : 
Yet  were  you  active  from  your  mother's  womb. 

The  knave  who  serves  hath  orders  strict  and  cool 

To  list  no  word  you  utter,  give  you  naught, 
Scarcely  to  ope  the  door ;  such  is  their  rule. 

These  toys  hath  Glory  for  her  nursling  wrought ! 

No  paper,  pens,  ink,  fire,  or  tools  of  steel. 
To  exercise  the  quick  brain's  teeming  thought. 


MEMOIRS  241 

Alack  that  I  so  little  can  reveal  ! 

Fancy  one  hundred  for  each  separate  ill  : 
Full  space  and  place  I've  left  for  prison  weal  ! 

But  now  my  former  purpose  to  fulfil, 

And  sing  the  dungeon's  praise  with  honour  due — 
For  this  angelic  tongues  were  scant  of  skill. 

Here  never  languish  honest  men  and  true, 

Except  by  placemen's  fraud,  misgovernment, 
Jealousies,  anger,  or  some  spiteful  crew. 

To  tell  the  truth  whereon  my  mind  is  bent, 

Here  man  knows  God,  nor  ever  stints  to  pray, 
Feeling  his  soul  with  hell's  fierce  anguish  rent. 

Let  one  be  famed  as  bad  as  mortal  may. 

Send  him  in  jail  two  sorry  years  to  pine, 
He'll  come  forth  holy,  wise,  beloved  alway. 

Here  soul,  flesh,  clothes  their  substance  gross  refine; 

Each  bulky  lout  grows  light  like  gossamere  ; 
Celestial  thrones  before  purged  eyeballs  shine. 

I'll  tell  thee  a  great  marvel  !     Friend,  give  ear  ! 

The  fancy  took  me  on  one  day  to  write  : 
Learn  now  what  shifts  one  may  be  put  to  here. 

My  cell  I  search,  prick  brows  and  hair  upright, 

Then  turn  me  toward  a  cranny  in  the  door, 
And  with  my  teeth  a  splinter  disunite  ; 

Next  find  a  piece  of  brick  upon  the  fioor. 

Crumble  a  part  thereof  to  powder  small. 
And  form  a  paste  by  sprinkling  water  o'er. 

Then,  then  came  Poesy  with  fiery  call 

Into  my  carcass,  by  the  way  methought 
Whence  bread  goes  forth— there  was  none  else  at  all. 

Now  to  return  unto  my  primal  thought : 

Who  wills  to  know  what  weal  awaits  him,  must 
First  learn  the  ill  that  God  for  him  hath  wrought. 

The  jail  contains  all  arts  in  act  and  trust  ; 

Should  you  but  hanker  after  surgeon's  skill, 
'Twill  draw  the  spoiled  blood  from  your  veins' adust. 

Next  there  is  something  in  itself  that  will 

Make  you  right  eloquent,  a  bold  brave  spark. 
Big  with  high-soaring  thoughts  for  good  and  ill. 

Blessed  is  the  man  who  lies  in  dungeon  dark. 

Languishing  many  a  month,  then  takes  his  flight 
Of  war,  truce,  peace  he  knows,  and  tells  the  mark 
16 


242  CELLINI 

Needs  be  that  all  things  turn  to  his  delight ; 

The  jail  has  crammed  his  brains  so  full  of  wit, 
They'll  dance  no  morris  to  upset  the  wight. 

Perchance  thou'lt  urge  :   "  Think  how  thy  life  did  fiit 

Nor  is  it  true  the  jail  can  teach  thee  lore, 
To  fill  thy  breast  and  heart  with  strength  of  it ! " 

Nay,  for  myself  I'll  ever  praise  it  more  : 

Yet  would  I  like  one  law  passed — that  the  man 
Whose  acts  deserve  it  should  not  scape  this  score. 

Whoso  hath  gotten  the  poor  folk  in  ban, 

I'd  make  him  learn  those  lessons  of  the  jail ; 
For  then  he'd  know  all  a  good  ruler  can  : 

He'd  act  like  men  who  weigh  by  reason's  scale. 

Nor  dare  to  swerve  from  truth  and  right  aside, 
Nor  would  confusion  in  the  realm  prevail. 

While  I  was  bound  in  prison  to  abide, 

Foison  of  priests,  friars,  soldiers  I  could  see ; 
But  those  who  best  deserved  it  least  I  spied. 

Ah  !  could  you  know  what  rage  came  over  me, 

When  for  such  rogues  the  jail  relaxed  her  hold  ! 
This  makes  one  weep  that  one  was  born  to  be  ! 

I'll  add  no  more.     Now  I'm  become  fine  gold, 
Such  gold  as  none  flings  lightly  to  the  wind. 
Fit  for  the  best  work  eyes  shall  e'er  behold. 

Another  point  hath  passed  into  my  mind, 

Which  I've  not  told  thee,  Luca  ;  where  I  wrote 
Was  in  the  book  of  one  our  kith  and  kind. 

There  down  the  margins  I  was  wont  to  note 

Each  torment  grim  that  crushed  me  like  a  vice  : 
The  paste  my  hurrying  thoughts  could  hardly  float. 

To  make  an  O,  I  dipped  the  splinter  thrice 

In  that  thick  mud  ;  worse  woe  could  scarcely  grind 
Spirits  in  hell  debarred  from  Paradise. 

Seeing  I'm  not  the  first  by  fraud  confined, 

This  I'll  omit ;  and  once  more  seek  the  cell 
Wherein  I  rack  for  rage  both  heart  and  mind. 

I  praise  it  more  than  other  tongues  will  tell  ; 

And,  for  advice  to  such  as  do  not  know. 
Swear  that  without  it  none  can  labour  well. 

Yet  oh  !  for  one  like  Him  I  learned  but  now. 

Who'd  cry  to  me  as  by  Bethesda's  shore  : 
Take  thy  clothes,  Benvenuto,  rise  and  go  ! 


MEMOIRS  243 

Credo  I'd  sing,  Salve  reginas  pour 

And  Paternosters  ;  alms  I'd  then  bestow 
Morn  after  morn  on  blind  folk,  lame,  and  poor. 

Ah  me  !  how  many  a  time  my  cheek  must  grow 

Blanched  by  those  lilies  !     Shall  I  then  forswear 
Florence  and  France  through  them  evermore?' 

If  to  the  hospital  I  come,  and  fair 

Find  the  Annunziata  limned,  I'll  fly  : 
Else  shall  I  show  myself  a  brute  beast  there.' 

These  words  flout  not  Her  worshipped  sanctity, 

Nor  those  Her  lilies,  glorious,  holy,  pure, 
The  which  illumine  earth  and  heaven  high  ! 

But  for  I  find  at  every  coign  obscure 

Base  lilies  which  spread  hooks  where  flowers  should  blow, 
Needs  must  I  fear  lest  these  to  ruin  lure.* 

To  think  how  many  walk  like  me  in  woe  ! 

Born  what,  how  slaved  to  serve  that  hateful  sign  ! 
Souls  lively,  graceful,  like  to  gods  below  ! 

I  saw  that  lethal  heraldry  decline 

From  heaven  like  lightning  among  people  vain  ; 
Then  on  the  stone  I  saw  strange  lustre  shine. 

The  castle's  bell  must  break  ere  I  with  strain 

Thence  issued  ;  and  these  things  Who  speaketh  true 
In  heaven  on  earth,  to  me  made  wondrous  plain.* 

Next  I  beheld  a  bier  of  sombre  hue 

Adorned  with  broken  lilies  ;  crosses,  tears  ; 
And  on  their  beds  a  lost  woe-stricken  crew.* 

I  saw  the  Death  who  racks  our  souls  with  fears  ; 

This  man  and  that  she  menaced,  while  she  cried: 
"  I  clip  the  folk  who  harm  thee  with  these  shears  !  " 

That  worthy  one  then  on  my  brow  wrote  wide 

With  Peter's  pen  words  which — for  he  bade  shun 
To  speak  them  thrice — within  my  breast  I  hide.* 

Him  I  beheld  who  drives  and  checks  the  sun, 

Clad  with  its  splendour  'mid  his  court  on  high, 
Seld-seen  by  mortal  eyes,  if  e'er  by  one.' 

'  The  lilies  were  arms  of  the  Farnesi,  of  Florence,  and  of  France. 
'  Gabriel  holds  the  lily  in  Italian  paintings  when  he  salutes  the  Virgin 
Mary  with  Ave  Virgo  ! 

*  That  is,  he  finds  everywhere  in  Italy  the  arms  of  the  Farnesi. 

*  Allusion  to  his  prevision  of  the  castellan's  death. 

*  Allusion  to  his  prevision  of  Pier  Luigi  Farnese's  murder. 

*  Allusion  to  the  angel  who  visited  him  in  prison. 
'  Allusion  to  his  vision  of  the  sun' in  the  dungeon. 


244  CELLINI 

Then  did  a  solitary  sparrow  cry 

Loud  from  the  keep  ;  hearirifjf  which  note,  I  said: 
"  He  tells  that  I  shall  live  and  you  must  die  ! " 

I  sang,  and  wrote  my  hard  case,  head  by  head, 

Asking  from  God  pardon  and  aid  in  need. 
For  now  I  felt  mine  eyes  outworn  and  dead. 

Ne'er  lion,  tiger,  wolf,  or  bear  knew  greed 

Hungrier  than  that  man  felt  for  human  blood; 
Nor  viper  with  more  venomous  fang  did  feed.' 

The  cruel  chief  was  he  of  robbers'  brood, 

Worst  of  the  worst  among  a  gang  of  knaves  ; 
Hist !   I'll  speak  soft  lest  I  be  understood  ! 

Say,  have  ye  seen  catchpolls,  the  famished  slaves. 

In  act  a  poor  man's  homestead  to  distrain. 
Smashing  down  Christ,  Madonnas,  with  their  staves? 

So  on  the  first  of  August  did  that  train 

Dislodge  me  to  a  tomb  more  foul,  more  cold : — 
"  November  damns  and  dooms  each  rogue  to  pain  ! " 

I  at  mine  ears  a  trumpet  had  which  told 

Truth  ;  and  each  word  to  them  I  did  repeat. 
Reckless,  if  but  grief's  load  from  me  were  rolled. 

They,  when  they  saw  their  final  hope  retreat. 
Gave  me  a  diamond,  pounded,  no  fair  ring, 
Deeming  that  I  must  die  if  I  should  eat. 

That  villain  churl  whose  office  'twas  to  bring 

My  food,  I  bade  taste  first;  but  meanwhile  thought: 
"  Not  here  I  find  my  foe  Durante's  sting  !  " 

Yet  erst  my  mind  unto  high  God  I  brought, 

Beseeching  Him  to  pardon  all  my  sin, 
And  spoke  a  Miserere  sorrow-fraught. 

Then  when  I  gained  some  respite  from  that  din 

Of  troubles,  and  had  given  my  soul  to  God, 
Contented  better  realms  and  state  to  win, 

I  saw  along  the  path  which  saints  have  trod. 

From  heaven  descending,  glad,  with  glorious  palm, 
An  angel :  clear  he  cried,  "  Upon  earth's  sod 

"  Live  longer  thou  !     Through  Him  who  heard  thy  psalm, 
Those  foes  shall  perish,  each  and  all,  in  strife, 

While  thou  remainest  happy,  free,  and  calm. 

Blessed  by  our  Sire  in  heaven  on  earth  for  life  ! " 

'  An  invective  against  Pier  Luigi  Farnese. 

'  Allusion  to  the  prophetic  words  he  flung  at  the  officers  who  took  him 
to  Foiano's  dungeon. 


BOOK   SECOND 

I 

{REMAINED  for  some  time  in  the  Cardinal  of  Ferrara's 
palace,  very  well  regarded  in  general  by  everybody,  and 
much  more  visited  even  than  I  had  previously  been.  Every- 
body was  astonished  that  I  should  have  come  out  of  prison 
and  have  been  able  to  live  through  such  indescribable  afflic- 
tions; and  while  I  was  recovering  my  breath  and  endeavour- 
ing to  resume  the  habit  of  my  art,  I  had  great  pleasure  in  re- 
writing the  Capitolo.  Afterward,  with  a  view  to  re-estab- 
lishing my  strength,  I  determined  to  take  a  journey  of  a  few 
days  for  change  of  air.  My  good  friend  the  Cardinal  gave 
me  permission  and  lent  me  horses;  and  I  had  two  young 
Romans  for  my  companions,  one  of  them  a  craftsman  in  my 
trade,  the  other  only  a  comrade  in  our  journey.  We  left 
Rome,  and  took  the  road  to  Tagliacozzo,  intending  to  visit 
my  pupil  Ascanio,  who  lived  there.  On  our  arrival,  I  found 
the  lad,  together  with  his  father,  brothers,  sisters,  and  step- 
mother. I  was  entertained  by  them  two  days  with  indescrib- 
able kindness;  then  I  turned  my  face  toward  Rome,  taking 
Ascanio  with  me.  On  the  road  we  fell  to  conversing  about 
our  art,  which  made  me  die  of  impatience  to  get  back  and 
recommence  my  labours. 

Having  reached  Rome,  I  got  myself  at  once  in  readiness 
to  work,  and  was  fortunate  enough  to  find  again  a  silver  basin 
which  I  had  begun  for  the  Cardinal  before  I  was  imprisoned. 
Together  with  this  basin  I  had  begun  a  very  beautiful  little 
jug;  but  this  had  been  stolen,  with  a  great  quantity  of  other 
valuable  articles.  I  set  Pagolo,  whom  I  have  previously  men- 
tioned, to  work  upon  the  basin.  At  the  same  time  I  recom- 
menced the  jug,  which  was  designed  with  round  figures  and 
bas-reliefs.  The  basin  was  executed  in  a  similar  style,  with 
round  figures  and  fishes  in  bas-relief.     The  whole  had  such 

245 


246  CELLINI 

richness  and  good  keeping,  that  every  one  who  beheld  it 
expressed  astonishment  at  the  force  of  the  design  and  beauty 
of  invention,  and  also  at  the  deHcacy  with  which  these  young 
men  worked. 

The  Cardinal  came  at  least  twice  a  day  to  see  me,  bringing 
with  him  Messer  Luigi  Alamanni  and  Messer  Gabriel  Cesano; 
and  here  we  used  to  pass  an  hour  or  two  pleasantly  together. 
Notwithstanding  I  had  very  much  to  do,  he  kept  giving  me 
fresh  commissions.  Among  others,  I  had  to  make  his  pon- 
tifical seal,  of  the  size  of  the  hand  of  a  boy  of  twelve.  On  it 
I  engraved  in  intaglio  two  little  histories,  the  one  of  San 
Giovanni  preaching  in  the  wilderness,  the  other  of  Sant'  Am- 
brogio  expelling  the  Arians  on  horseback  with  a  lash  in  his 
hand.  The  fire  and  correctness  of  design  of  this  piece,  and 
its  nicety  of  workmanship,  made  every  one  say  that  I  had  sur- 
passed the  great  Lautizio,  who  ranked  alone  in  this  branch 
of  the  profession.  The  Cardinal  was  so  proud  of  it  that  he 
used  to  compare  it  complacently  with  the  other  seals  of  the 
Roman  cardinals,  which  were  nearly  all  from  the  hand  of 

Lautizio. 

II 

In  addition  to  these  things,  the  Cardinal  ordered  me  to 
make  the  model  for  a  salt-cellar;  but  he  said  he  should  like 
me  to  leave  the  beaten  track  pursued  by  such  as  fabricated 
these  things.  Messer  Luigi,  apropos  of  this  salt-cellar,  made 
an  eloquent  description  of  his  own  idea;  Messer  Gabriello 
Cesano  also  spoke  exceedingly  well  to  the  same  purpose. 
The  Cardinal,  who  was  a  very  kindly  listener,  showed  ex- 
treme satisfaction  with  the  designs  which  these  two  able  men 
of  letters  had  described  in  words.  Then  he  turned  to  me  and 
said :  "  My  Benvenuto,  the  design  of  Messer  Luigi  and  that 
of  Messer  Gabriello  please  me  both  so  well  that  I  know  not 
how  to  choose  between  them;  therefore  I  leave  the  choice 
to  you,  who  will  have  to  execute  the  work."  I  replied  as 
follows:  "  It  is  apparent,  my  lords,  of  what  vast  consequence 
are  the  sons  of  kings  and  emperors,  and  what  a  marvellous 
brightness  of  divinity  appears  in  them;  nevertheless,  if  you 
ask  some  poor  humble  shepherd  which  he  loves  best,  those 
royal  children  or  his  sons,  he  will  certainly  tell  you  that  he 
loves  his  own  sons  best.  Now  I  too  have  a  great  affection 
for  the  children  which  I  bring  forth  from  my  art;  consequently 


MEMOIRS  247 

the  first  which  I  will  show  you,  most  reverend  monsignor 
my  good  master,  shall  be  of  my  own  making  and  invention. 
There  are  many  things  beautiful  enough  in  words  which  do 
not  match  together  well  when  executed  by  an  artist."  Then 
I  turned  to  the  two  scholars  and  said:  "You  have  spoken, 
I  will  do."  Upon  this  Messer  Luigi  Alamanni  smiled,  and 
added  a  great  many  witty  things,  with  the  greatest  charm  of 
manner,  in  my  praise;  they  became  him  well,  for  he  was 
handsome  of  face  and  figure,  and  had  a  gentle  voice.  Messer 
Gabriello  Cesano  was  quite  the  opposite,  as  ugly  and  dis- 
pleasing as  the  other  was  agreeable;  accordingly  he  spoke  as 
he  looked. 

Messer  Luigi  had  suggested  that  I  should  fashion  a  Venus 
with  Cupid,  surrounded  by  a  crowd  of  pretty  emblems,  all 
in  proper  keeping  with  the  subject.  Messer  Gabriello  pro- 
posed that  I  should  model  an  Amphitrite,  the  wife  of  Nep- 
tune, together  with  those  Tritons  of  the  sea,  and  many  such- 
like fancies,  good  enough  to  describe  in  words,  but  not  to 
execute  in  metal. 

I  first  laid  down  an  oval  framework,  considerably  longer 
than  half  a  cubit — almost  two-thirds,  in  fact;  and  upon  this 
ground,  wishing  to  suggest  the  interminglement  of  land  and 
ocean,  I  modelled  two  figures,  considerably  taller  than  a  palm 
in  height,  which  were  seated  with  their  legs  interlaced,  sug- 
gesting those  lengthier  branches  of  the  sea  which  run  up 
into  the  continents.  The  sea  was  a  man,  and  in  his  hand 
I  placed  a  ship,  elaborately  wrought  in  all  its  details,  and  well 
adapted  to  hold  a  quantity  of  salt.  Beneath  him  I  grouped 
the  four  sea-horses,  and  in  his  right  hand  he  held  his  trident. 
The  earth  I  fashioned  like  a  woman,  with  all  the  beauty  of 
form,  the  grace,  and  charm  of  which  my  art  was  capable. 
She  had  a  richly  decorated  temple  firmly  based  upon  the 
ground  at  one  side;  and  here  her  hand  rested.  This  I  in- 
tended to  receive  the  pepper.  In  her  other  hand  I  put  a  cornu- 
copia, overflowing  with  all  the  natural  treasures  I  could  think 
of.  Below  this  goddess,  in  the  part  which  represented  earth, 
I  collected  the  fairest  animals  that  haunt  our  globe.  In  the 
quarter  presided  over  by  the  deity  of  ocean,  I  fashioned  such 
choice  kinds  of  fishes  and  shells  as  could  be  properly  displayed 
in  that  small  space.  What  remained  of  the  oval  I  filled  in 
with  luxuriant  ornamentation. 


248  CELLINI 

Then  I  waited  for  the  Cardinal;  and  when  he  came,  at- 
tended by  the  two  accomplished  gentlemen,  I  produced  the 
model  I  had  made  in  wax.  On  beholding  it,  Messer  Gabriel 
Cesano  was  the  first  to  lift  his  voice  up,  and  to  cry:  "  This  is 
a  piece  which  it  will  take  the  lives  of  ten  men  to  finish:  do 
not  expect,  most  reverend  monsignor,  if  you  order  it,  to  get 
it  in  your  lifetime.  Benvenuto,  it  seems,  has  chosen  to  dis- 
play his  children  in  a  vision,  but  not  to  give  them  to  the 
touch,  as  we  did  when  we  spoke  of  things  that  could  be  car- 
ried out,  while  he  has  shown  a  thing  beyond  the  bounds  of 
possibility."  Messer  Alamanni  took  my  side;  but  the  Car- 
dinal said  he  did  not  care  to  undertake  so  important  an  aflfair. 
Then  I  turned  to  them  and  said:  "  Most  reverend  monsignor, 
and  you,  gentlemen,  fulfilled  with  learning;  I  tell  you  that 
I  hope  to  complete  this  piece  for  whosoever  shall  be  destined 
to  possess  it;  and  each  one  of  you  shall  live  to  see  it  exe- 
cuted a  hundred  times  more  richly  than  the  model.  Indeed, 
I  hope  that  time  will  be  left  me  to  produce  far  greater  things 
than  this."  The  Cardinal  replied  in  heat:  "  Unless  you  make 
it  for  the  King,  to  whom  I  mean  to  take  you,  I  do  not  think 
that  you  will  make  it  for  another  man  alive."  Then  he  showed 
me  letters  in  which  the  King,  under  one  heading,  bade  him 
return  as  soon  as  possible,  bringing  Benvenuto  with  him.  At 
this  I  raised  my  hands  to  heaven,  exclaiming:  "  Oh,  when 
will  that  moment  come,  and  quickly?"  The  Cardinal  bade 
me  put  myself  in  readiness,  and  arrange  the  affairs  I  had  in 
Rome.     He  gave  me  ten  days  for  these  preparations. 

Ill 

When  the  time  came  to  travel,  he  gave  me  a  fine  and  ex- 
cellent horse.  The  animal  was  called  Tornon,  because  it  was 
a  gift  from  the  Cardinal  Tornon.^  My  apprentices,  Pagolo 
and  Ascanio,  were  also  furnished  with  good  mounts. 

The  Cardinal  divided  his  household,  which  was  very 
numerous,  into  two  sections.  The  first,  and  the  more  dis- 
tinguished, he  took  with  him,  following  the  route  of  Romagna, 
with  the  object  of  visiting  Madonna  del  Loreto,  and  then 
making  for  Ferrara,  his  own  home.  The  other  section  he 
sent  upon  the  road  to  Florence.     This  was  the  larger  train; 

'  This   was  the  famous   Francis  de  Tournon,  made  Cardinal  in  1530, 
and  employed  as  minister  by  Francis  I. 


MEMOIRS 


249 


it  counted  a  great  multitude,  including  the  flower  of  his 
horse.  He  told  me  that  if  I  wished  to  make  the  journey 
without  peril,  I  had  better  go  with  him,  otherwise  I  ran  some 
risk  of  my  life.  I  expressed  my  inclination  to  his  most  rever- 
end lordship  to  travel  in  his  suite.  But,  having  done  so,  since 
the  will  of  Heaven  must  be  accomplished,  it  pleased  God  to 
remind  me  of  my  poor  sister,  who  had  suffered  greatly  from 
the  news  of  my  misfortunes.  I  also  remembered  my  cousins, 
who  were  nuns  in  Viterbo,  the  one  abbess  and  the  other 
camerlinga,^  and  who  had  therefore  that  rich  convent  under 
their  control.  They  too  had  endured  sore  tribulation  for  my 
sake,  and  to  their  fervent  prayers  I  firmly  believed  that  I  owed 
the  grace  of  my  deliverance  by  God.  Accordingly,  when 
these  things  came  into  my  mind,  I  decided  for  the  route  to 
Florence.  I  might  have  travelled  free  of  expense  with  the 
Cardinal  or  with  that  other  train  of  his,  but  I  chose  to  take 
my  own  way  by  myself.  Eventually  I  joined  company  with 
a  very  famous  clockmaker,  called  Maestro  Cherubino,  my 
esteemed  friend.  Thrown  together  by  accident,  we  performed 
the  journey  with  much  enjoyment  on  both  sides. 

I  had  left  Rome  on  Monday  in  Passion  Week,  together 
with  Pagolo  and  Ascanio.^  At  Monte  Ruosi  we  joined  the 
company  which  I  have  mentioned.  Since  I  had  expressed 
my  intention  of  follow-ing  the  Cardinal,  I  did  not  anticipate 
that  any  of  my  enemies  would  be  upon  the  watch  to  harm 
me.  Yet  I  ran  a  narrow  risk  of  coming  to  grief  at  Monte 
Ruosi;  for  a  band  of  men  had  been  sent  forward,  well  armed, 
to  do  me  mischief  there.  It  was  so  ordained  by  God  that, 
while  we  were  at  dinner,  these  fellows,  on  the  news  that  I  was 
not  travelling  in  the  Cardinal's  suite,  made  preparation  to 
attack  me.  Just  at  that  moment  the  Cardinal's  retinue  ar- 
rived, and  I  was  glad  enough  to  travel  with  their  escort  safely 
to  Viterbo.  From  that  place  onward  I  had  no  apprehension 
of  danger,  especially  as  I  made  a  point  of  travelling  a  few 
miles  in  front,  and  the  best  men  of  the  retinue  kept  a  good 
watch  over  me.  I  arrived  by  God's  grace  safe  and  sound  at 
Viterbo,  where  my  cousins  and  all  the  convent  received  me 
with  the  greatest  kindness. 

'  This  officer  in  a  convent  was  the  same  as  cellarer. 
*  March  22,  1540. 


250 


CELLINI 


IV 


After  leaving  Viterbo  with  the  comrades  I  have  men- 
tioned, we  pursued  our  journey  on  horseback,  sometimes  in 
front  and  sometimes  behind  the  Cardinal's  household.  This 
brought  us  upon  Maundy  Thursday  at  twenty-two  o'clock 
within  one  stage  of  Siena.  At  this  place  there  happened  to 
be  some  return-horses;  and  the  people  of  the  post  were  wait- 
ing for  an  opportunity  to  hire  them  at  a  small  fee  to  any 
traveller  who  would  take  them  back  to  the  post-station  in' 
Siena.  When  I  was  aware  of  this,  I  dismounted  from  my 
horse  Tornon,  saddled  one  of  the  beasts  with  my  pad  and' 
stirrups,  and  gave  a  giulio  to  the  groom  in  waiting. 

I  left  my  horse  under  the  care  of  my  young  men  to  bring 
after  me,  and  rode  on  in  front,  wishing  to  arrive  half-an- 
hour  earlier  in  Siena,  where  I  had  some  friends  to  visit  and 
some  business  to  transact.  Although  I  went  at  a  smart  pace, 
I  did  not  override  the  post-horse.  When  I  reached  Siena, 
I  engaged  good  rooms  at  the  inn  for  five  persons,  and  told 
the  groom  of  the  house  to  take  the  horse  back  to  the  post, 
which  was  outside  the  Camollia  gate;  I  forgot,  however,  to 
remove  my  stirrups  and  my  pad. 

That  evening  of  Holy  Thursday  we  passed  together  with 
much  gaiety;  and  next  morning,  which  was  Good  Friday, 
I  remembered  my  stirrups  and  my  pad.  On  my  sending  for 
them,  the  postmaster  replied  that  he  did  not  mean  to  give 
them  up,  because  I  had  overridden  his  horse.  We  exchanged 
messages  several  times,  and  he  kept  saying  that  he  meant 
to  keep  them,  adding  expressions  of  intolerable  insult.  The 
host  where  I  was  lodging  told  me:  "You  will  get  off  well 
if  he  does  nothing  worse  than  to  detain  your  gear;  for  you 
must  know  that  he  is  the  most  brutal  fellow  that  ever  dis- 
graced our  city,  and  has  two  sons,  soldiers  of  great  courage, 
who  are  even  more  brutal  than  he  is.  I  advise  you  then  to 
purchase  what  you  want,  and  to  pursue  your  journey  without 
moving  farther  in  this  matter." 

I  bought  a  new  pair  of  stirrups,  although  I  still  hoped  to 
regain  my  good  pad  by  persuasion;  and  since  I  was  very 
well  mounted,  and  well  armed  with  shirt  and  sleeves  of  mail, 
and  carried  an  excellent  arquebuse  upon  my  saddle-bow,  I 
was  not  afraid  of  the  brutality  and  violence  which  that  mad 


MEMOIRS  251 

beast  was  said  to  be  possessed  of.  I  had  also  accustomed 
my  young  men  to  carry  shirts  of  mail,  and  had  great  con- 
fidence in  the  Roman,  who,  while  we  were  in  Rome  together, 
had  never  left  it  off,  so  far  as  I  could  see;  Ascanio  too,  al- 
though he  was  but  a  stripling,  was  in  the  habit  of  wearing 
one.  Besides,  as  it  was  Good  Friday,  I  imagined  that  the 
madnesses  of  madmen  might  be  giving  themselves  a  holiday. 
When  we  came  to  the  CamoUia  gate,  I  at  once  recognised 
the  postmaster  by  the  indication  given  mc;  for  he  was  blind 
of  the  left  eye.  Riding  up  to  him  then,  and  leaving  my  young 
men  and  companions  at  a  little  distance,  I  courteously  ad- 
dressed him:  "  Master  of  the  post,  if  I  assure  you  that  I  did 
not  override  your  horse,  why  are  you  unwilling  to  give  me 
back  my  pad  and  stirrups?"  The  reply  he  made  was  pre- 
cisely as  mad  and  brutal  as  had  been  foretold  me.  This 
roused  me  to  exclaim:  "  How  then!  are  you  not  a  Christian? 
or  do  you  want  upon  Good  Friday  to  force  us  both  into  a 
scandal?"  He  answered  that  Good  Friday  or  the  Devil's 
Friday  was  all  the  same  to  him,  and  that  if  I  did  not  take 
myself  away,  he  would  fell  me  to  the  ground  with  a  spontoon 
which  he  had  taken  up — me  and  the  arquebuse  I  had  my 
hand  on.  Upon  hearing  these  truculent  words,  an  old  gentle- 
man of  Siena  joined  us;  he  was  dressed  like  a  citizen,  and 
was  returning  from  the  religious  functions  proper  to  that  day. 
It  seems  that  he  had  gathered  the  sense  of  my  arguments 
before  he  came  up  to  where  we  stood;  and  this  impelled 
him  to  rebuke  the  postmaster  with  warmth,  taking  my  side, 
and  reprimanding  the  man's  two  sons  for  not  doing  their  duty 
to  passing  strangers;  so  that  their  manners  were  an  offence 
to  God  and  a  disgrace  to  the  city  of  Siena.  The  two  young 
fellows  wagged  their  heads  without  saying  a  word,  and  with- 
drew inside  the  house.  Their  father,  stung  to  fury  by  the 
scolding  of  that  respectable  gentleman,  poured  out  a  volley 
of  abusive  blasphemies,  and  levelled  his  spontoon,  swearing 
he  would  murder  me.  When  I  saw  him  determined  to  do 
some  act  of  bestial  violence,  I  pointed  the  muzzle  of  my  arque- 
buse, with  the  object  only  of  keeping  him  at  a  distance. 
Doubly  enraged  by  this,  he  flung  himself  upon  me.  Though 
I  had  prepared  the  arquebuse  for  my  defence.  I  had  not  yet 
levelled  it  exactly  at  him;  indeed  it  was  pointed  too  high. 
It  went  off  of  itself;  and  the  ball,  striking  the  arch  of  the 


252  CELLINI 

door  and  glancing  backward,  wounded  him  in  the  throat, 
so  that  he  fell  dead  to  earth.  Upon  this  the  two  young  men 
came  running  out;  one  caught  up  a  partisan  from  the  rack 
which  stood  there,  the  other  seized  the  spontoon  of  his  father. 
Springing  upon  my  followers,  the  one  who  had  the  spontoon 
smote  Pagolo  the  Roman  first  above  the  left  nipple.  The 
other  attacked  a  Milanese  who  was  in  our  company,  and  had 
the  ways  and  manners  of  a  perfect  fool.  This  man  screamed 
out  that  he  had  nothing  in  the  world  to  do  with  me,  and  par- 
ried the  point  of  the  partisan  with  a  little  stick  he  held;  but 
this  availed  him  naught:  in  spite  of  his  words  and  fencing, 
he  received  a  flesh  wound  in  the  mouth.  Messer  Cherubino 
wore  the  habit  of  a  priest;  for  though  he  was  a  clockmaker 
by  trade,  he  held  benefices  of  some  value  from  the  Pope. 
Ascanio,  who  was  well  armed,  stood  his  ground  without  try- 
ing to  escape,  as  the  Milanese  had  done;  so  these  two  came 
ofif  unhurt.  I  had  set  spurs  to  my  horse,  and  while  he  was 
galloping,  had  charged  and  got  my  arquebuse  in  readiness 
again;  but  now  I  turned  back,  burning  with  fury,  and  mean- 
ing to  play  my  part  this  time  in  earnest.  I  thought  that  my 
young  men  had  been  killed,  and  was  resolved  to  die  with 
them.  The  horse  had  not  gone  many  paces  when  I  met  them 
riding  toward  me,  and  asked  if  they  were  hurt.  Ascanio  an- 
swered that  Pagolo  was  wounded  to  the  death.  Then  I  said: 
"  O  Pagolo,  my  son,  did  the  spontoon  then  pierce  through 
your  armour?  "  "  No,"  he  replied,  "  for  I  put  my  shirt  of 
mail  in  the  valise  this  morning."  "  So  then,  I  suppose,  one 
wears  chain-mail  in  Rome  to  swagger  before  ladies,  but  where 
there  is  danger,  and  one  wants  it,  one  keeps  it  locked  up  in 
a  portmanteau?  You  deserve  what  you  have  got,  and  you 
are  now  the  cause  of  sending  me  back  to  die  here  too."  While 
I  was  uttering  these  words,  I  kept  riding  briskly  onward; 
but  both  the  young  men  implored  me  for  the  love  of  God  to 
save  myself  and  them,  and  not  to  rush  on  certain  death.  Just 
then  I  met  Messer  Cherubino  and  the  wounded  Milanese. 
The  former  cried  out  that  no  one  was  badly  wounded;  the 
blow  given  to  Pagolo  had  only  grazed  the  skin;  but  the  old 
postmaster  was  stretched  out  dead;  his  sons  with  other  folk 
were  getting  ready  for  attack,  and  we  must  almost  certainly 
be  cut  to  pieces:  "  Accordingly,  Benvenuto,  since  fortune  has 
saved  us  from  this  first  tempest,  do  not  tempt  her  again,  for 


MEMOIRS  253 

things  may  not  go  so  favourably  a  second  time."  To  this  I 
rephed:  "  If  you  are  satisfied  to  have  it  thus,  so  also  am  I;  " 
and  turning  to  Pagolo  and  Ascanio,  I  said:  "  Strike  spurs  to 
your  horses,  and  let  us  gallop  to  Staggia  without  stopping; 
there  we  shall  be  in  safety."  The  wounded  Milanese  groaned 
out:  "A  curse  upon  our  peccadilloes!  the  sole  cause  of  my 
misfortune  was  that  I  sinned  by  taking  a  little  broth  this 
morning,  having  nothing  else  to  break  my  fast  with."  In 
spite  of  the  great  peril  we  were  in,  we  could  not  help  laugh- 
ing a  little  at  the  donkey  and  his  silly  speeches.  Tiicn  we  set 
spurs  to  our  horses,  and  left  Messer  Cherubino  and  the  Milan- 
ese to  follow  at  their  leisure. 


While  we  were  making  our  escape,  the  sons  of  the  dead 
man  ran  to  the  Duke  of  Melfi,  and  begged  for  some  light 
horsemen  to  catch  us  up  and  take  us  prisoners.^  The  Duke, 
upon  being  informed  that  we  were  the  Cardinal  of  Ferrara's 
men,  refused  to  give  them  troops  or  leave  to  follow.  We 
meanwhile  arrived  at  Staggia,  where  we  were  in  safety.  There 
we  sent  for  a  doctor,  the  best  who  could  be  had  in  such  a 
place;  and  on  his  examining  Pagolo,  we  discovered  that  the 
wound  was  only  skin-deep;  so  I  felt  sure  that  he  w^ould  escape 
without  mischief.  Then  we  ordered  dinner;  and  at  this  junc- 
ture there  arrived  Messer  Cherubino  and  that  Milanese  sim- 
pleton, who  kept  always  muttering:  "A  plague  upon  your 
quarrels,"  and  complaining  that  he  was  excommunicated  be- 
cause he  had  not  been  able  to  say  a  single  Paternoster  on  that 
holy  morning.  He  was  very  ugly,  and  his  mouth,  which 
nature  had  made  large,  had  been  expanded  at  least  three 
inches  by  his  wound;  so  that  what  with  his  ludicrous  Milan- 
ese jargon  and  his  silly  way  of  talking,  he  gave  us  so  much 
matter  for  mirth,  that,  instead  of  bemoaning  our  ill-luck,  we 
could  not  hold  from  laughing  at  every  word  he  uttered.  When 
the  doctor  wanted  to  sew  up  his  wound,  and  had  already  made 
three  stitches  with  his  needle,  the  fellow  told  him  to  hold 
hard  a  while,  since  he  did  not  want  him  out  of  malice  to  sew 
his  whole  mouth  up.  Then  he  took  up  a  spoon,  and  said  he 
wished  to  have  his  mouth  left  open  enough  to  take  that  spoon 

'  The  Duke  of  Melfi,  or  Amalfi,  was  at  this  time  Alfonso  Piccolomini, 
acting  as  captain-general  of  the  Sienese  in  the  interests  of  Charles  V. 


254 


CELLINI 


in,  in  order  that  he  might  return  aUve  to  his  own  folk.  These 
things  he  said  with  such  odd  waggings  of  the  head,  that  we 
never  stopped  from  laughing,  and  so  pursued  our  journey 
mirthfully  to  Florence. 

We  dismounted  at  the  house  of  my  poor  sister,  who,  to- 
gether with  her  husband,  overwhelmed  us  with  kind  atten- 
tions. Messer  Cherubino  and  the  Milanese  went  about  their 
business.  In  Florence  we  remained  four  days,  in  which 
Pagolo  got  well.  It  was  lucky  for  us  that  whenever  we'talked 
about  that  Milanese  donkey,  we  laughed  as  much  as  our  mis- 
fortunes made  us  weep,  so  that  we  kept  laughing  and  crying 
both  at  the  same  moment. 

Pagolo  recovered,  as  I  have  said,  with  ease;  and  then  we 
travelled  toward  Ferrara,  where  we  found  our  lord  the  Car- 
dinal had  not  yet  arrived.  He  had  already  heard  of  all  our 
accidents,  and  said,  when  he  expressed  his  concern  for  them: 
"  I  pray  to  God  that  I  may  be  allowed  to  bring  you  alive  to 
the  King,  according  to  my  promise."  In  Ferrara  he  sent 
me  to  reside  at  a  palace  of  his,  a  very  handsome  place  called 
Belfiore,  close  under  the  city  walls.  There  he  provided  me 
with  all  things  necessary  for  my  work.  A  little  later,  he 
arranged  to  leave  for  France  without  me;  and  observing  that 
I  was  very  ill  pleased  with  this,  he  said  to  me:  "  Benvenuto, 
I  am  acting  for  your  welfare;  before  I  take  you  out  of  Italy, 
I  want  you  to  know  exactly  what  you  will  have  to  do  when 
you  come  to  France.  Meanwhile,  push  on  my  basin  and  the 
jug  with  all  the  speed  you  can.  I  shall  leave  orders  with  my 
factor  to  give  you  everything  that  you  may  want." 

He  then  departed,  and  I  remained  sorely  dissatisfied,  and 
more  than  once  I  was  upon  the  point  of  taking  myself  off 
without  license.  The  only  thing  which  kept  me  back  was 
that  he  had  procured  my  freedom  from  Pope  Paolo;  for  the 
rest,  I  was  ill-contented  and  put  to  considerable  losses.  How- 
ever, I  clothed  my  mind  with  the  gratitude  due  to  that  great 
benefit,  and  disposed  myself  to  be  patient  and  to  await  the 
termination  of  the  business.  So  I  set  myself  to  work  with 
my  two  men,  and  made  great  progress  with  the  jug  and  basin. 
The  air  was  unwholesome  where  we  lodged,  and  toward 
summer  we  all  of  us  suffered  somewhat  in  our  health.  Dur- 
ing our  indisposition  we  went  about  inspecting  the  domain; 
it  was  very  large,  and  left  in  a  wild  state  for  about  a  mile  of 


MEMOIRS  255 

Open  ground,  haunted  too  by  multitudes  of  peacocks,  which 
bred  and  nested  there  hke  wildfowl.  This  put  it  into  my  head 
to  charge  my  gun  with  a  noiseless  kind  of  powder;  then  I 
tracked  some  of  the  young  birds,  and  every  other  day  killed 
one,  which  furnished  us  with  abundance  of  meat,  of  such 
excellent  quality  that  we  shook  our  sickness  od.  For  sev- 
eral months  following  we  went  on  working  merrily,  and  got 
the  jug  and  basin  forward;  but  it  was  a  task  that  required 
much  time. 

VI 

At  that  period  the  Duke  of  Ferrara  came  to  terms  with 
Pope  Paul  about  some  old  matters  in  dispute  between  them 
relating  to  Modena  and  certain  other  cities.  The  Church 
having  a  strong  claim  to  them,  the  Duke  was  forced  to  pur- 
chase peace  by  paying  down  an  enormous  sum  of  money;  I 
think  that  it  exceeded  three  hundred  thousand  ducats  of  the 
Camera.  There  was  an  old  treasurer  in  the  service  of  the 
Duke,  who  had  been  brought  up  by  his  father,  Duke  Alfonso, 
and  was  called  Messer  Girolamo  Giliolo.  He  could  not  en- 
dure to  see  so  much  money  going  to  the  Pope,  and  went  about 
the  streets  crying:  "  Duke  Alfonso,  his  father,  would  sooner 
have  attacked  and  taken  Rome  with  this  money  than  have 
shown  it  to  the  Pope."  Nothing  would  induce  him  to  dis- 
burse it;  at  last,  however,  the  Duke  compelled  him  to  make 
the  payments,  which  caused  the  old  man  such  anguish  that 
he  sickened  of  a  dangerous  colic  and  was  brought  to  death's 
door.  During  this  man's  illness  the  Duke  sent  for  me,  and 
bade  me  take  his  portrait;  this  I  did  upon  a  circular  piece 
of  black  stone  about  the  size  of  a  little  trencher.  The  Duke 
took  so  much  pleasure  in  my  work  and  conversation,  that  he 
not  unfrequently  posed  through  four  or  five  hours  at  a  stretch 
for  his  own  portrait,  and  sometimes  invited  mc  to  supper.  It 
took  me  eight  days  to  complete  his  likeness;  then  he  ordered 
me  to  design  the  reverse.  On  it  I  modelled  Peace,  giving 
her  the  form  of  a  woman  with  a  torch  in  her  hand,  setting 
fire  to  a  trophy  of  arms;  I  portrayed  her  in  an  attitude  of 
gladness,  with  very  thin  drapery,  and  below  her  feet  lay  Fury 
in  despair,  downcast  and  sad,  and  loaded  with  chains.  I  de- 
voted much  study  and  attention  to  this  work,  and  it  won  me 
the  greatest  honour.  The  Duke  was  never  tired  of  express- 
ing his  satisfaction,  and  gave  me  inscriptions  for  both  sides 


256  CELLINI 

of  the  medal.    That  on  the  reverse  ran  as  follows:  "Pretiosa  in 

conspectu  Domini:"  it  meant  that  his  peace  with  the  Pope  had 

been  dearly  bought. 

VII 

While  I  was  still  engaged  upon  the  reverse  of  this  medal, 
the  Cardinal  sent  me  letters  bidding  me  prepare  for  my  jour- 
ney, since  the  King  had  asked  after  me.  His  next  communi- 
cation would  contain  full  details  respecting  all  that  he  had 
promised.  Accordingly,  I  had  my  jug  and  basin  packed  up, 
after  showing  them  to  the  Duke.  Now  a  Ferrarese  gentleman 
named  Alberto  Bendedio  was  the  Cardinal's  agent,  and  he 
had  been  twelve  years  confined  to  his  house,  without  once 
leaving  it,  by  reason  of  some  physical  infirmity.  One  day 
he  sent  in  a  vast  hurry  for  me,  saying  I  must  take  the  post 
at  once,  in  order  to  present  myself  before  the  King  of  France, 
who  had  eagerly  been  asking  for  me,  under  the  impression 
that  I  was  in  France.  By  way  of  apology,  the  Cardinal  told 
him  that  I  was  staying,  slightly  indisposed,  in  his  abbey  at 
Lyons,  but  that  he  would  have  me  brought  immediately  to 
his  Majesty.  Therefore  I  must  lose  no  time,  but  travel  with 
the  post. 

Now  Messer  Alberto  was  a  man  of  sterling  worth,  but 
proud,  and  illness  had  made  his  haughty  temper  insupport- 
able. As  I  have  just  said,  he  bade  me  to  get  ready  on  the 
spot  and  take  the  journey  by  the  common  post.  I  said  that 
it  was  not  the  custom  to  pursue  my  profession  in  the  post, 
and  that  if  I  had  to  go,  it  was  my  intention  to  make  easy 
stages  and  to  take  with  me  the  workmen  Ascanio  and  Pagolo, 
whom  I  had  brought  from  Rome.  Moreover,  I  wanted  a  serv- 
ant on  horseback  to  be  at  my  orders,  and  money  sufficient  for 
my  costs  upon  the  way.  The  infirm  old  man  replied,  upon 
a  tone  of  mighty  haughtiness,  that  the  sons  of  dukes  were 
wont  to  travel  as  I  had  described,  and  in  no  other  fashion.  I 
retorted  that  the  sons  of  my  art  travelled  in  the  way  I  had 
informed  him,  and  that  not  being  a  duke's  son,  I  knew  noth- 
ing about  the  customs  of  such  folk;  if  he  treated  me  to  lan- 
guage with  which  my  ears  were  unfamiliar,  I  would  not  go  at 
all;  the  Cardinal  having  broken  faith  with  me,  and  such  scurvy 
words  having  been  spoken,  I  should  make  my  mind  up  once  for 
all  to  take  no  further  trouble  with  the  Ferrarese.  Then  I  turned 
my  back,  and,  he  threatening,  I  grumbling,  took  my  leave. 


MEMOIRS  257 

I  next  went  to  the  Duke  with  my  medal,  which  was  fin- 
ished. He  received  me  with  the  highest  marks  of  honour 
and  esteem.  It  seems  that  he  had  given  orders  to  Messer 
Girolamo  Giholo  to  reward  me  for  my  labour  with  a  diamond 
ring  worth  two  hundred  crowns,  which  was  to  be  presented 
by  Fiaschino,  his  chamberlain.  Accordingly,  this  fellow,  on 
the  evening  after  I  had  brought  the  medal,  at  one  hour  past 
nightfall,  handed  me  a  ring  with  a  diamond  of  showy  appear- 
ance, and  spoke  as  follows  on  the  part  of  his  master:  "  Take 
this  diamond  as  a  remembrance  of  his  Excellency,  to  adorn 
the  unique  artist's  hand  which  has  produced  a  masterpiece 
of  so  singular  merit."  When  day  broke,  I  examined  the  ring, 
and  found  the  stone  to  be  a  miserable  thin  diamond,  worth 
about  ten  crowns.  I  felt  sure  that  the  Duke  had  not  meant 
to  accompany  such  magnificent  compliments  with  so  trifling 
a  gift,  but  that  he  must  have  intended  to  reward  me  hand- 
somely. Being  then  convinced  that  the  trick  proceeded  from 
his  rogue  of  a  treasurer,  I  gave  the  ring  to  a  friend  of  mine, 
begging  him  to  return  it  to  the  chamberlain,  Fiaschino,  as  he 
best  could.  The  man  I  chose  was  Bernardo  Saliti,  who  exe- 
cuted his  commission  admirably.  Fiaschino  came  at  once 
to  see  me,  and  declared,  with  vehement  expostulations,  that 
the  Duke  would  take  it  very  ill  if  I  refused  a  present  he  had 
meant  so  kindly;  perhaps  I  should  have  to  repent  of  my  way- 
wardness. I  answered  that  the  ring  his  Excellency  had  given 
me  was  worth  about  ten  crowns,  and  that  the  work  I  had 
done  for  him  was  worth  more  than  two  hundred.  Wishing, 
however,  to  show  his  Excellency  how  highly  I  esteemed  his 
courtesy,  I  should  be  happy  if  he  bestowed  on  me  only  one 
of  those  rings  for  the  cramp,  which  come  from  England  and 
are  worth  tenpence.  I  would  treasure  that  so  long  as  I  lived 
in  remembrance  of  his  Excellency,  together  with  the  honour- 
able message  he  had  sent  me;  for  I  considered  that  the  splen- 
did favours  of  his  Excellency  had  amply  recompensed  my 
pains,  whereas  that  paltry  stone  insulted  them.  This  speech 
annoyed  the  Duke  so  much  that  he  sent  for  his  treasurer,  and 
scolded  him  more  sharply  than  he  had  ever  done  before.  At 
the  same  time  he  gave  me  orders,  under  pain  of  his  displeas- 
ure, not  to  leave  Ferrara  without  duly  informing  him;  and 
commanded  the  treasurer  to  present  me  with  a  diamond  up 
to  three  hundred  crowns  in  value.  The  miserly  officer  found 
17 


258  CELLINI 

a  stone  rising  a  trifle  above  sixty  crowns,  and  let  it  be  heard 
that  it  was  worth  upward  of  two  hundred. 

VIII 

Meanwhile  Messer  Alberto  returned  to  reason,  and  pro- 
vided me  with  all  I  had  demanded.  My  mind  was  made  up 
to  quit  Ferrara  without  fail  that  very  day;  but  the  Duke's 
attentive  chamberlain  arranged  with  Messer  Alberto  that  I 
should  get  no  horses  then.  I  had  loaded  a  mule  with  my 
baggage,  including  the  case  which  held  the  Cardinal's  jug 
and  basin.  Just  then  a  Ferrarese  nobleman  named  Messer 
Alfonso  de'  Trotti  arrived.^  He  was  far  advanced  in  years, 
and  a  person  of  excessive  affectation;  a  great  dilettante  of 
the  arts,  but  one  of  those  men  who  are  very  difficult  to  satisfy, 
and  who,  if  they  chance  to  stumble  on  something  which  suits 
their  taste,  exalt  it  so  in  their  own  fancy  that  they  never  ex- 
pect to  see  the  like  of  it  again.  Well,  this  Messer  Alfonso 
arrived,  and  Messer  Alberto  said  to  him:  "I  am  sorry  that 
you  are  come  so  late;  the  jug  and  basin  we  are  sending  to 
the  Cardinal  in  France  have  been  already  packed."  He  an- 
swered that  it  did  not  signify  to  him;  and  beckoning  to  his 
servant,  sent  him  home  to  fetch  a  jug  in  white  Faenzo  clay, 
the  workmanship  of  which  was  very  exquisite.  During  the 
time  the  servant  took  to  go  and  return,  Messer  Alfonso  said 
to  Messer  Alberto:  "  I  will  tell  you  why  I  do  not  care  any 
longer  to  look  at  vases;  it  is  that  I  once  beheld  a  piece  of 
silver,  antique,  of  such  beauty  and  such  finish  that  the  human 
imagination  can  not  possibly  conceive  its  rarity.  Therefore 
I  would  rather  not  inspect  any  objects  of  the  kind,  for  fear 
of  spoiling  the  unique  impression  I  retain  of  that.  I  must 
tell  you  that  a  gentleman  of  great  quality  and  accomplish- 
ments, who  went  to  Rome  upon  matters  of  business,  had 
this  antique  vase  shown  to  him  in  secret.  By  adroitly  using 
a  large  sum  of  money,  he  bribed  the  person  in  whose  hands 
it  was,  and  brought  it  with  him  to  these  parts;  but  he  keeps 
it  jealously  from  all  eyes,  in  order  that  the  Duke  may  not 
get  wind  of  it,  fearing  he  should  in  some  way  be  deprived  of 
his  treasure."  While  spinning  out  this  lengthy  yarn,  Messer 
Alfonso  did  not  look  at  me,  because  we  were  not  previously 

'  This  man  was  a  member  of  a  very  noble  Ferrarese  family,  and  much 
esteemed  for  his  official  talents. 


MEMOIRS  259 

acquainted.  But  when  that  precious  clay  model  appeared, 
he  displayed  it  with  such  airs  of  ostentation,  pomp,  and 
mountebank  ceremony,  that,  after  inspecting  it,  I  turned  to 
Messer  Alberto  and  said:  "I  am  indeed  lucky  to  have  had 
the  privilege  to  see  it!  "  Messer  Alfonso,  quite  affronted,  let 
some  contemptuous  words  escape  him,  and  exclaimed:  "  Who 
are  you,  then,  you  who  do  not  know  what  you  are  saying?  " 
I  replied:  "  Listen  for  a  moment,  and  afterward  judge  which 
of  us  knows  best  what  he  is  saying."  Then  turning  to  Messer 
Alberto,  who  was  of  great  gravity  and  talent,  I  began:  "  This 
is  a  copy  from  a  little  silver  goblet,  of  such  and  such  a  weight, 
which  I  made  at  such  and  such  a  time  for  that  charlatan 
Maestro  Jacopo,  the  surgeon  from  Carpi.  He  came  to  Rome 
and  spent  six  months  there,  during  which  he  bedaubed  some 
scores  of  noblemen  and  unfortunate  gentlefolk  with  his  dirty 
salves,  extracting  many  thousands  of  ducats  from  their  pock- 
ets. At  that  time  I  made  for  him  this  vase  and  one  of  a  dif- 
ferent pattern.  He  paid  me  very  badly;  and  at  the  present 
moment  in  Rome  all  the  miserable  people  who  used  his  oint- 
ment are  crippled  and  in  a  deplorable  state  of  health.  It  is 
indeed  great  glory  for  me  that  my  works  are  held  in  such 
repute  among  you  wealthy  lords;  but  I  can  assure  you  that 
during  these  many  years  past  I  have  been  progressing  in  my 
art  with  all  my  might,  and  I  think  that  the  vase  I  am  taking 
with  me  into  France  is  far  more  worthy  of  cardinals  and  kings 
than  that  piece  belonging  to  your  little  quack  doctor." 

After  I  had  made  this  speech,  Messer  Alfonso  seemed 
dying  with  desire  to  see  the  jug  and  basin,  but  I  refused 
to  open  the  box.  We  remained  some  while  disputing  the 
matter,  when  he  said  that  he  would  go  to  the  Duke  and  get 
an  order  from  his  Excellency  to  have  it  shown  him.  Then 
Messer  Alberto  Bendedio,  in  the  high  and  mighty  manner 
which  belonged  to  him,  exclaimed:  "  Before  you  leave  this 
room,  Messer  Alfonso,  you  shall  see  it,  without  employing 
the  Duke's  influence."  On  hearing  these  words  I  took  my 
leave,  and  left  Ascanio  and  Pagolo  to  show  it.  They  told 
me  afterward  that  he  had  spoken  enthusiastically  in  my  praise. 
After  this  he  wanted  to  become  better  acquainted  with  me; 
but  I  was  wearying  to  leave  Ferrara  and  get  away  from  all 
its  folk.  The  only  advantages  I  had  enjoyed  there  were  the 
society  of  Cardinal  Salviati  and  the  Cardinal  of  Ravenna,  and 


26o  CELLINI 

the  friendsliip  of  some  ingenious  musicians;*  no  one  else 
had  been  to  me  of  any  good;  for  the  Ferrarese  are  a  very 
avaricious  people,  greedy  of  their  neighbours'  money,  how- 
ever they  may  lay  their  hands  on  it;  they  are  all  the  same  in 
this  respect. 

At  the  hour  of  twenty-two  Fiaschino  arrived,  and  gave 
me  the  diamond  of  sixty  crowns,  of  which  I  spoke  above. 
He  told  me,  with  a  hang-dog  look  and  a  few  brief  words, 
that  I  might  wear  it  for  his  Excellency's  sake.  I  replied:  "  I 
will  do  so."  Then  putting  my  foot  in  the  stirrup  in  his  pres- 
ence, I  set  off  upon  my  travels  without  further  leave-taking. 
The  man  noted  down  my  acts  and  words,  and  reported  them 
to  the  Duke,  who  was  highly  incensed,  and  showed  a  strong 
inclination  to  make  me  retrace  my  steps. 

IX 

That  evening  I  rode  more  than  ten  miles,  always  at  a  trot; 
and  when,  upon  the  next  day,  I  found  myself  outside  the 
Ferrarese  domain,  I  felt  excessively  relieved;  indeed  I  had 
met  with  nothing  to  my  liking  there,  except  those  peacocks 
which  restored  my  health.  We  journeyed  by  the  Monsanese, 
avoiding  the  city  of  Milan  on  account  of  the  apprehension 
I  have  spoken  of;  so  that  we  arrived  safe  and  sound  at  Lyons. 
Counting  Pagolo  and  Ascanio  and  a  servant,  we  were  four 
men,  with  four  very  good  horses.  At  Lyons  we  waited  sev- 
eral days  for  the  muleteer,  who  carried  the  silver  cup  and 
basin,  as  well  as  our  other  baggage;  our  lodging  was  in  an 
abbey  of  the  Cardinal's.  When  the  muleteer  arrived,  we 
loaded  all  our  goods  upon  a  little  cart,  and  then  set  off  toward 
Paris.  On  the  road  we  met  with  some  annoyances,  but  not 
of  any  great  moment. 

We  found  the  Court  of  the  King  at  Fontana  Belio ;  there 
we  presented  ourselves  to  the  Cardinal,  who  provided  us  at 
once  with  lodgings,  and  that  evening  we  were  comfortable. 
On  the  following  day  the  cart  turned  up;  so  we  unpacked 
our  things,  and  when  the  Cardinal  heard  this  he  told  the 
King,  who  expressed  a  wish  to  see  me  at  once.  I  went  to 
his   Majesty   with   the   cup   and   basin;  then,   upon    entering 

'Cardinal  Giovanni  Salviati  was  Archbishop  of  Ferrara ;  Cardinal 
Benedetto  Accolti,  Archibishop  of  Ravenna,  was  then  staying  at  Ferrara  ; 
the  court  was  famous  for  its  excellent  orchestra  and  theatrical  display  of 
all  kinds. 


MEMOIRS  261 

his  presence,  I  kissed  his  knee,  and  he  received  me  very 
graciously.  I  thanked  his  Majesty  for  freeing  me  from  prison, 
saying  that  all  princes  unique  for  generosity  upon  this  earth, 
as  was  his  Majesty,  lay  under  special  obligations  to  set  free 
men  of  talent,  and  particularly  those  that  were  innocent,  as 
I  was;  such  benefits,  I  added,  were  inscribed  upon  the  book 
of  God  before  any  other  good  actions.  The  King,  while  I 
was  delivering  this  speech,  continued  listening  till  the  end 
with  the  utmost  courtesy,  dropping  a  few  words  such  as  only 
he  could  utter.  Then  he  took  the  vase  and  basin,  and  ex- 
claimed: "  Of  a  truth  I  hardly  think  the  ancients  can  have 
seen  a  piece  so  beautiful  as  this.  I  well  remember  to  have 
inspected  all  the  best  works,  and  by  the  greatest  masters  of 
all  Italy,  but  I  never  set  my  eyes  on  anything  which  stirred 
me  to  such  admiration."  These  words  the  King  addressed  in 
French  to  the  Cardinal  of  Ferrara,  with  many  others  of  even 
warmer  praise.  Then  he  turned  to  me  and  said  in  Italian: 
"  Benvenuto,  amuse  yourself  for  a  few  days,  make  good  cheer, 
and  spend  your  time  in  pleasure;  in  the  meanwhile  we  will 
think  of  giving  you  the  wherewithal  to  execute  some  fine 

works  of  art  for  us." 

X 

The  Cardinal  of  Ferrara  saw  that  the  King  had  been 
vastly  pleased  by  my  arrival;  he  also  judged  that  the  trifles 
which  I  showed  him  of  my  handicraft  had  encouraged  him 
to  hope  for  the  execution  of  some  considerable  things  he  had 
in  mind.  At  this  time,  however,  we  were  following  the  court 
with  the  weariest  trouble  and  fatigue;  the  reason  of  this  was 
that  the  train  of  the  King  drags  itself  along  with  never  less 
than  12,000  horse  behind  it;  this  calculation  is  the  very  low- 
est; for  when  the  court  is  complete  in  times  of  peace,  there 
are  some  18,000,  which  makes  12,000  less  than  the  average. 
Consequently  we  had  to  journey  after  it  through  places  where 
sometimes  there  were  scarcely  two  houses  to  be  found;  and 
then  we  set  up  canvas  tents  like  gipsies,  and  suffered  at  times 
very  great  discomfort.  I  therefore  kept  urging  the  Cardinal 
to  put  the  King  in  mind  of  employing  me  in  some  locality 
where  I  could  stop  and  work.  The  Cardinal  answered  that  it 
was  far  better  to  wait  until  the  King  should  think  of  it  him- 
self, and  that  I  ought  to  show  myself  at  times  to  his  Majesty 
while  he  was  at  table.    This  I  did  then;  and  one  morning,  at 


262  CELLINI 

his  dinner,  the  King  called  me.  He  began  to  talk  to  me  in 
Italian,  saying  he  had  it  in  his  mind  to  execute  several  great 
works,  and  that  he  would  soon  give  orders  where  I  was  to 
labour,  and  provide  me  with  all  necessaries.  These  com- 
munications he  mingled  with  discourse  on  divers  pleasant 
matters.  The  Cardinal  of  Ferrara  was  there,  because  he  almost 
always  ate  in  the  morning  at  the  King's  table.  He  had  heard 
our  conversation,  and  when  the  King  rose,  he  spoke  in  my 
favour  to  this  purport,  as  I  afterward  was  informed:  "  Sacred 
Majesty,  this  man  Benvenuto  is  very  eager  to  get  to  work 
again;  it  seems  almost  a  sin  to  let  an  artist  of  his  abilities 
waste  his  time."  The  King  replied  that  he  had  spoken  well, 
and  told  him  to  arrange  with  me  all  things  for  my  support 
according  to  my  wishes. 

Upon  the  evening  of  the  day  when  he  received  this  com- 
mission, the  Cardinal  sent  for  me  after  supper,  and  told  me 
that  his  Majesty  was  resolved  to  let  me  begin  working,  but 
that  he  wanted  me  first  to  come  to  an  understanding  about 
my  appointments.  To  this  the  Cardinal  added:  "It  seems 
to  me  that  if  his  Majesty  allows  you  three  hundred  crowns 
a  year,  you  will  be  able  to  keep  yourself  very  well  indeed; 
furthermore,  I  advise  you  to  leave  yourself  in  my  hands,  for 
every  day  offers  the  opportunity  of  doing  some  service  in 
this  great  kingdom,  and  I  shall  exert  myself  with  vigour  in 
your  interest."  Then  I  began  to  speak  as  follows:  "When 
your  most  reverend  lordship  left  me  in  Ferrara,  you  gave 
me  a  promise,  which  I  had  never  asked  for,  not  to  bring  me 
out  of  Italy  before  I  clearly  understood  the  terms  on  which 
I  should  be  placed  here  with  his  Majesty.  Instead  of  send- 
ing to  communicate  these  details,  your  most  reverend  lord- 
ship urgently  ordered  me  to  come  by  the  post,  as  if  an  art 
like  mine  was  carried  on  post-haste.  Had  you  written  to 
tell  me  of  three  hundred  crowns,  as  you  have  now  spoken, 
I  would  not  have  stirred  a  foot  for  twice  that  sum.  Never- 
theless, I  thank  God  and  your  most  reverend  lordship  for 
all  things,  seeing  God  has  employed  you  as  the  instrument 
for  my  great  good  in  procuring  my  liberation  from  imprison- 
ment. Therefore  I  assure  your  lordship  that  all  the  troubles 
you  are  now  causing  me  fall  a  thousand  times  short  of  the 
great  good  which  you  have  done  me.  With  all  my  heart  I 
thank  you,  and  take  good  leave  of  you;  wherever  I  may  be, 


MEMOIRS  263 

SO  long  as  I  have  life,  I  will  pray  God  for  you."  The  Car- 
dinal was  greatly  irritated,  and  cried  out  in  a  rage:  "  Go 
where  you  choose;  it  is  impossible  to  help  people  against 
their  will."  Some  of  his  good-for-nothing  courtiers  who  were 
present  said:  "That  fellow  sets  great  store  on  himself,  for 
he  is  refusing  three  hundred  ducats  a  year."  Another,  who 
was  a  man  of  talent,  replied:  "The  King  will  never  find  his 
equal,  and  our  Cardinal  wants  to  cheapen  him,  as  though  he 
were  a  load  of  wood."  This  was  Messer  Luigi  Alamanni 
who  spoke  to  the  above  efTcct,  as  I  was  afterward  informed. 
All  this  happened  on  the  last  day  of  October,  in  Dauphine, 
at  a  castle  the  name  of  which  I  do  not  remember. 

XI 

On  leaving  the  Cardinal  I  repaired  to  my  lodging,  which 
was  three  miles  distant,  in  company  with  a  secretary  of  the 
Cardinal  returning  to  the  same  quarters.  On  the  road,  this 
man  never  stopped  asking  me  what  I  meant  to  do  with  my- 
self, and  what  my  own  terms  regarding  the  appointment 
would  have  been.  I  gave  him  only  one  word  back  for  answer, 
which  was  that — I  knew  all.  When  we  came  to  our  quarters, 
I  found  Pagolo  and  Ascanio  there;  and  seeing  me  much 
troubled,  they  implored  me  to  tell  them  what  was  the  matter. 
To  the  poor  young  men,  who  were  all  dismayed,  I  said  for 
answer:  "  To-morrow  I  shall  give  you  money  amply  suffi- 
cient for  your  journey  home.  I  mean  myself  to  go  about 
a  most  important  business  without  you,  which  for  a  long 
time  I  have  had  it  in  my  mind  to  do."  Our  room  adjoined 
that  of  the  secretary;  and  I  think  it  not  improbable  that  he 
wrote  to  the  Cardinal,  and  informed  him  of  my  purpose.  How- 
ever, I  never  knew  anything  for  certain  about  this.  The  night 
passed  without  sleep,  and  I  kept  wearying  for  the  day,  in 
order  to  carry  out  my  resolution. 

No  sooner  did  it  dawn  than  I  ordered  out  the  horses,  made 
my  preparations  in  a  moment,  and  gave  the  two  young  men 
everything  which  I  had  brought  with  me,  and  fifty  ducats 
of  gold  in  addition.  I  reserved  the  same  sum  for  myself, 
together  with  the  diamond  the  Duke  had  given  me;  I  onlv 
kept  two  shirts  and  some  well-worn  riding-clothes  which  I 
had  upon  my  back.  I  found  it  almost  impossible  to  get  free 
of  the  two  young  men,  who  insisted  upon  going  with  me, 


264  CELLINI 

whatever  happened.  At  last  I  was  obHged  to  treat  them  with 
contempt,  and  use  this  language:  "  One  of  you  has  his  first 
beard,  and  the  other  is  just  getting  it;  and  both  of  you  have 
learned  as  much  from  me  as  I  could  teach  in  my  poor  art, 
so  that  you  are  now  the  first  craftsmen  among  the  youths  of 
Italy.  Are  you  not  ashamed  to  have  no  courage  to  quit  this 
go-cart,  but  must  always  creep  about  in  leading-strings?  The 
thing  is  too  disgraceful !  Or  if  I  were  to  send  you  away  with- 
out money,  what  would  you  say  then?  Come,  take  yourselves 
out  of  my  sight,  and  may  God  bless  you  a  thousand  times. 
Farewell!  " 

I  turned  my  horse  and  left  them  weeping.    Then  I  took  my 
way  along  a  very  fair  road  through  a  forest,  hoping  to  make 
at  least  forty  miles  that  day,  and  reach  the  most  out-of-the- 
way  place  I  could.    I  had  already  ridden  about  two  miles,  and 
during  that  short  time  had  resolved  never  to  revisit  any  of 
those  parts  where  I  was  known.     I  also  determined  to  aban- 
don my  art  so  soon  as  I  had  made  a  Christ  three  cubits  in 
height,  reproducing,  so  far  as  I  was  able,  that  infinite  beauty 
which  He  had  Himself  revealed  to  me.    So  then,  being  thor- 
oughly resolved,  I  turned  my  face  toward  the  Holy  Sepul- 
chre.   Just  when  I  thought  I  had  got  so  far  that  nobody  could 
find  me,  I  heard  horses  galloping  after.     They  filled  me  with 
some  uneasiness,  because  that  district  is  infested  with  a  race 
of  brigands,  who  bear  the  name  of  Venturers,  and  are  apt 
to  murder  men  upon  the  road.     Though  numbers  of  them 
are  hanged  every  day,  it  seems  as  though  they  did  not  care. 
However,  when  the  riders  approached,  I  found  they  were  a 
messenger  from  the  King  and  my  lad  Ascanio.     The  former 
came  up  to  me  and  said:  "  From  the  King  I  order  you  to 
come  immediately  to  his  presence."     I  replied:  "You  have 
been   sent  by   the   Cardinal,  and  for  this   reason   I   will   not 
come."    The  man  said  that  since  gentle  usage  would  not  bring 
me,  he  had  authority  to  raise  the  folk,  and  they  would  take 
me  bound  hand  and  foot  like  a  prisoner.     Ascanio,  for  his 
part,  did  all  he  could  to  persuade  me,  reminding  me  that  when 
the  King  sent  a  man  to  prison,  he  kept  him  there  five  years  at 
least  before  he  let  him  out  again.    This  word  about  the  prison, 
when  I  remembered  what  I  had  endured  in  Rome,  struck  such 
terror  into  me.  that  I  wheeled  my  horse  round  briskly  and 
followed  the  King's  messenger.     He  kept  perpetually  chat- 


MEMOIRS  265 

taring  in  French  through  all  our  journey,  up  to  the  very  pre- 
cincts of  the  court,  at  one  time  bullying,  now  saying  one  thing, 
then  another,  till  I  felt  inclined  to  deny  God  and  the  world. 

XII 

On  our  way  to  the  lodgings  of  the  King  we  passed  before 
those  of  the  Cardinal  of  Ferrara.  Standing  at  his  door,  he 
called  to  me  and  said:  "  Our  most  Christian  monarch  has  of 
his  own  accord  assigned  you  the  same  appointments  which 
his  Majesty  allowed  the  painter  Lionardo  da  Vinci,  that  is, 
a  salary  of  seven  hundred  crowns;  in  addition,  he  will  pay 
you  for  all  the  works  you  do  for  him;  also  for  your  journey 
hither  he  gives  you  five  hundred  golden  crowns,  which  will 
be  paid  you  before  you  quit  this  place."  At  the  end  of  this 
announcement,  I  replied  that  those  were  offers  worthy  of  the 
great  King  he  was.  The  messenger,  not  knowing  anything 
about  me,  and  hearing  what  splendid  offers  had  been  made 
me  by  the  King,  begged  my  pardon  over  and  over  again. 
Pagolo  and  Ascanio  exclaimed:  "  It  is  God  who  has  helped 
us  to  get  back  into  so  honoured  a  go-cart!  " 

On  the  day  following  I  went  to  thank  the  King,  who 
ordered  me  to  make  the  models  of  twelve  silver  statues,  which 
were  to  stand  as  candelabra  round  his  table.  He  wanted  them 
to  represent  six  gods  and  six  goddesses,  and  to  have  exactly 
the  same  height  as  his  Majesty,  which  was  a  trifle  under  four 
cubits.  Having  dictated  this  commission,  he  turned  to  his 
treasurer,  and  asked  whether  he  had  paid  me  the  five  hun- 
dred crowns.  The  official  said  that  he  had  received  no  orders 
to  that  effect.  The  King  took  this  very  ill,  for  he  had  re- 
quested the  Cardinal  to  speak  to  him  about  it.  Furthermore, 
he  told  me  to  go  to  Paris  and  seek  out  a  place  to  live  in,  fitted 
for  the  execution  of  such  works;  he  would  see  that  I  ob- 
tained it. 

I  got  the  five  hundred  crowns  of  gold,  and  took  up  my 
quarters  at  Paris  in  a  house  of  the  Cardinal  of  Ferrara.  There 
I  began,  in  God's  name,  to  w^ork,  and  fashioned  four  little 
waxen  models,  about  two-thirds  of  a  cubit  each  in  height. 
They  were  Jupiter,  Juno,  Apollo,  and  Vulcan.  In  this  while 
the  King  returned  to  Paris;  whereupon  I  went  to  him  at  once, 
taking  my  models  with  me,  and  my  two  prentices,  Ascanio 
and  Pagolo.  On  perceiving  that  the  King  was  pleased  with 
18 


266  CELLINI 

my  work,  and  being  commissioned  to  execute  the  Jupiter  in 
silver  of  the  height  above  described,  I  introduced  the  two 
young  men,  and  said  that  I  had  brought  them  with  me  out 
of  Italy  to  serve  his  Majesty;  for  inasmuch  as  they  had  been 
brought  up  by  me,  I  could  at  the  beginning  get  more  help 
from  them  than  from  the  Paris  workmen.  To  this  the  King 
replied  that  I  might  name  a  salary  which  I  thought  sufficient 
for  their  maintenance.  I  said  that  a  hundred  crowns  of  gold 
apiece  would  be  quite  proper,  and  that  I  would  make  them 
earn  their  wages  well.  This  agreement  was  concluded.  Then 
I  said  that  I  had  found  a  place  which  seemed  to  me  exactly 
suited  to  my  industry;  it  was  his  Majesty's  own  property,  and 
called  the  Little  Nello.  The  Provost  of  Paris  was  then  in 
possession  of  it  from  his  Majesty;  but  since  the  Provost  made 
no  use  of  the  castle,  his  Majesty  perhaps  might  grant  it  me 
to  employ  in  his  service.^  He  replied  upon  the  instant: 
"  That  place  is  my  own  house,  and  I  know  well  that  the  man 
I  gave  it  to  does  not  inhabit  or  use  it.  So  you  shall  have  it 
for  the  work  you  have  to  do."  He  then  told  his  lieutenant 
to  install  me  in  the  Nello.  This  officer  made  some  resistance, 
pleading  that  he  could  not  carry  out  the  order.  The  King 
answered  in  anger  that  he  meant  to  bestow  his  property  on 
whom  he  pleased,  and  on  a  man  who  would  serve  him,  seeing 
that  he  got  nothing  from  the  other;  therefore  he  would  hear 
no  more  about  it.  The  lieutenant  then  submitted  that  some 
small  force  would  have  to  be  employed  in  order  to  eflfect  an 
entrance.  To  which  the  King  answered:  "  Go,  then,  and  if 
a  small  force  is  not  enough,  use  a  great  one." 

The  officer  took  me  immediately  to  the  castle,  and  there 
put  me  in  possession,  not,  however,  without  violence;  after 
that  he  warned  me  to  take  very  good  care  that  I  was  not 
murdered.  I  installed  myself,  enrolled  serving-men,  and 
bought  a  quantity  of  pikes  and  partisans;  but  I  remained 
for  several  days  exposed  to  grievous  annoyances,  for  the  Pro- 
vost was  a  great  nobleman  of  Paris,  and  all  the  other  gentle- 
folk took  part  against  me;  they  attacked  me  with  such  insults 
that  I  could  hardly  hold  my  own  against  them.  I  must  not 
omit  to  mention  that  I  entered  the  service  of  his  Majesty  in  the 

'  This  was  the  castle  of  Le  Petit  Nesle,  on  the  site  of  which  now  stands 
the  Palace  of  the  Institute.  The  Provost  of  Paris  was  then  Jean  d'Es- 
touteville,  lord  of  Villebon. 


MEMOIRS  267 

year  1540,  which  was  exactly  the  year  in  which  I  reached 

the  age  of  forty. 

XIII 

The  affronts  and  insults  I  received  made  me  have  re- 
course to  the  King,  begging  his  Majesty  to  establish  me  in 
some  other  place.  He  answered:  "Who  are  you,  and  what 
is  your  name?"  I  remained  in  great  confusion,  and  could 
not  comprehend  what  he  meant.  Holding  my  tongue  thus, 
the  King  repeated  the  same  words  a  second  time  angrily. 
Then  I  said  my  name  was  Benvenuto.  "  If,  then,  you  are  the 
Benvenuto  of  whom  I  have  heard,"  replied  the  King,  '*  act 
according  to  your  wont,  for  you  have  my  full  leave  to  do 
so."  I  told  his  Majesty  that  all  I  wanted  was  to  keep  his 
favour;  for  the  rest,  I  knew  of  nothing  that  could  harm  me. 
He  gave  a  little  laugh,  and  said :  "  Go  your  ways,  then ;  you 
shall  never  want  my  favour."  Upon  this  he  told  his  first 
secretary,  Monsignor  di  Villerois,  to  see  me  provided  and 
accommodated  with  all  I  needed.^ 

This  Villerois  was  an  intimate  friend  of  the  Provost,  to 
whom  the  castle  had  been  given.  It  was  built  in  a  triangle, 
right  up  against  the  city  walls,  and  was  of  some  antiquity, 
but  had  no  garrison.  The  building  was  of  considerable  size. 
Monsignor  di  Villerois  counselled  me  to  look  about  for  some- 
thing else,  and  by  all  means  to  leave  this  place  alone,  seeing 
that  its  owner  was  a  man  of  vast  power,  who  would  most 
assuredly  have  me  killed.  I  answered  that  I  had  come  from 
Italy  to  France  only  in  order  to  serve  that  illustrious  King; 
and  as  for  dying,  I  knew  for  certain  that  die  I  must;  a  little 
earlier  or  a  little  later  was  a  matter  of  supreme  indifference 
to  me. 

Now  Villerois  was  a  man  of  the  highest  talent,  excep- 
tionally distinguished  in  all  points,  and  possessed  of  vast 
wealth.  There  was  nothing  he  would  not  gladly  have  done 
to  harm  me,  but  he  made  no  open  demonstration  of  his  mind. 
He  was  grave,  and  of  a  noble  presence,  and  spoke  slowly, 
at  his  ease.  To  another  gentleman,  Monsignor  di  Marmagna, 
the  treasurer  of  Languedoc,  he  left  the  duty  of  molesting  me.^ 
The  first  thing  which  this  man  did  was  to  look  out  the  best 
apartments  in  the  castle,  and  to  have  them  fitted  up  for  him- 

'  M.  Nicholas  de  Neufville,  lord  of  Villeroy. 
•  Francis  I'Allemand,  Seigneur  de  Marmagne. 


268  CELLINI 

self.  I  told  him  that  the  King  had  given  me  the  place  to 
serve  him  in,  and  that  I  did  not  choose  it  should  be  occupied 
by  any  but  myself  and  my  attendants.  The  fellow,  who  was 
haughty,  bold,  and  spirited,  replied  that  he  meant  to  do  just 
what  he  liked;  that  I  should  run  my  head  against  a  wall  if  I 
presumed  to  oppose  him,  and  that  Villerois  had  given  him 
authority  to  do  what  he  was  doing.  I  told  him  that,  by  the 
King's  authority  given  to  me,  neither  he  nor  Villerois  could 
do  it.  When  I  said  that  he  gave  vent  to  offensive  language 
in  French,  whereat  I  retorted  in  my  own  tongue  that  he  lied. 
Stung  with  rage,  he  clapped  his  hand  upon  a  little  dagger 
which  he  had;  then  I  set  my  hand  also  to  a  large  dirk  which 
I  always  wore  for  my  defence,  and  cried  out:  "  If  you  dare 
to  draw,  I'll  kill  you  on  the  spot."  He  had  two  servants  to 
back  him,  and  I  had  my  two  lads.  For  a  moment  or  two 
Marmagna  stood  in  doubt,  not  knowing  exactly  what  to  do, 
but  rather  inclined  to  mischief,  and  muttering:  "  I  will  never 
put  up  with  such  insults."  Seeing  then  that  the  afTair  was 
taking  a  bad  turn,  I  took  a  sudden  resolution,  and  cried  to 
Pagolo  and  Ascanio:  "When  you  see  me  draw  my  dirk, 
throw  yourselves  upon  those  serving-men,  and  kill  them  if 
you  can;  I  mean  to  kill  this  fellow  at  the  first  stroke,  and 
then  we  will  decamp  together,  with  God's  grace."  Marmagna, 
when  he  understood  my  purpose,  was  glad  enough  to  get 
alive  out  of  the  castle. 

All  these  things,  toning  them  down  a  trifle,  I  wrote  to 
the  Cardinal  of  Ferrara,  who  related  them  at  once  to  the 
King.  The  King,  deeply  irritated,  committed  me  to  the  care 
of  another  officer  of  his  bodyguard  who  was  named  Mon- 
signor  lo  Iscontro  d'Orbech.^  By  him  I  was  accommodated 
with  all  that  I  required  in  the  most  gracious  way  imaginable. 

XIV 

After  fitting  up  my  own  lodgings  in  the  castle  and  the  work- 
shop with  all  conveniences  for  carrying  on  my  business,  and 
putting  my  household  upon  a  most  respectable  footing,  I 
began  at  once  to  construct  three  models  exactly  of  the  size 
which  the  silver  statues  were  to  be.  These  were  Jupiter, 
Vulcan,  and  Mars.  I  moulded  them  in  clav,  and  set  them 
well  up  on  irons;  then  I  went  to  the  King,  who  disbursed  three 

'  Le  Vicomte  d'Orbec. 


MEMOIRS  269 

hundred  pounds  weight  of  silver,  if  I  remember  rightly,  for 
the  commencement  of  the  undertaking.  While  I  was  getting 
these  things  ready,  we  brought  the  little  vase  and  oval  basin 
to  completion,  which  had  been  several  months  in  hand.  Then 
I  had  them  richly  gilt,  and  they  showed  like  the  finest  piece 
of  plate  which  had  been  seen  in  France. 

Afterward  I  took  them  to  the  Cardinal,  who  thanked  me 
greatly;  and,  without  requesting  my  attendance,  carried  and 
presented  them  to  the  King.  He  was  delighted  with  the  gift, 
and  praised  me  as  no  artist  was  ever  praised  before.  In 
return,  he  bestowed  upon  the  Cardinal  an  abbey  worth  seven 
thousand  crowns  a  year,  and  expressed  his  intention  of  re- 
warding me  too.  The  Cardinal,  however,  prevented  him, 
telling  his  Majesty  that  he  was  going  ahead  too  fast,  since 
I  had  as  yet  produced  nothing  for  him.  The  King,  who  was 
exceedingly  generous,  replied:  "  For  that  very  reason  will  I 
put  heart  and  hope  into  him."  The  Cardinal,  ashamed  at  his 
own  meanness,  said:  "Sire,  I  beg  you  to  leave  that  to  me; 
I  will  allow  him  a  pension  of  at  least  three  hundred  crowns 
when  I  have  taken  possession  of  the  abbey."  He  never  gave 
me  anything;  and  it  would  be  tedious  to  relate  all  the  knavish 
tricks  of  this  prelate.    I  prefer  to  dwell  on  matters  of  greater 

moment. 

XV 

When  I  returned  to  Paris,  the  great  favour  shown  me  by 
the  King  made  me  a  mark  for  all  men's  admiration.  I  re- 
ceived the  silver  and  began  my  statue  of  Jupiter.  Many 
journeymen  were  now  in  my  employ;  and  the  work  went 
onward  briskly  day  and  night;  so  that,  by  the  time  I  had 
finished  the  clay  models  of  Jupiter,  Vulcan,  and  Mars,  and 
had  begun  to  get  the  silver  statue  forward,  my  workshop 
made  already  a  grand  show. 

The  King  now  came  to  Paris,  and  I  went  to  pay  him  my 
respects.  No  sooner  had  his  Majesty  set  eyes  upon  me  than 
he  called  me  cheerfully,  and  asked  if  T  had  something  fine 
to  exhibit  at  my  lodging,  for  he  would  come  to  inspect  it. 
I  related  all  I  had  been  doing;  upon  which  he  was  seized 
with  a  strong  desire  to  come.  Accordingly,  after  his  dinner, 
he  set  off  with  Madame  de  Tampes,  the  Cardinal  of  Lorraine, 
and  some  other  of  his  greatest  nobles,  among  whom  were 
the  King  of  Navarre,  his  cousin,  and  the  Queen,  his  sister; 


2/0  CELLINI 

the  Dauphin  and  Dauphiness  also  attended  him;  so  that 
upon  that  day  the  very  flower  of  the  French  court  came  to 
visit  me.^  I  had  been  some  time  at  home,  and  was  hard  at 
work.  When  the  King  arrived  at  the  door  of  the  castle,  and 
heard  our  hammers  going,  he  bade  his  company  keep  silence. 
Everybody  in  my  house  was  busily  employed,  so  that  the 
unexpected  entrance  of  his  Majesty  took  me  by  surprise.  The 
first  thing  he  saw  on  coming  into  the  great  hall  was  myself 
with  a  huge  plate  of  silver  in  my  hand,  which  I  was  beating 
for  the  body  of  my  Jupiter;  one  of  my  men  was  finishing  the 
head,  another  the  legs;  and  it  is  easy  to  imagine  what  a  din 
we  made  between  us.  It  happened  that  a  little  French  lad 
was  working  at  my  side,  who  had  just  been  guilty  of  some 
trifling  blunder.  I  gave  the  lad  a  kick,  and,  as  my  good  luck 
would  have  it,  caught  him  with  my  foot  exactly  in  the  fork 
between  his  legs,  and  sent  him  spinning  several  yards,  so  that 
he  came  stumbling  up  against  the  King  precisely  at  the  mo- 
ment when  his  Majesty  arrived.  The  King  was  vastly  amused, 
but  I  felt  covered  with  confusion.  He  began  to  ask  me  what 
I  was  engaged  upon,  and  told  me  to  go  on  working;  then 
he  said  that  he  would  much  rather  have  me  not  employ  my 
strength  on  manual  labour,  but  take  as  many  men  as  I  wanted, 
and  make  them  do  the  rough  work;  he  should  like  me  to 
keep  myself  in  health,  in  order  that  he  might  enjoy  my  serv- 
ices through  many  years  to  come.  I  replied  to  his  Majesty 
that  the  moment  I  left  off  working  I  should  fall  ill;  also  that 
my  art  itself  would  suffer,  and  not  attain  the  mark  I  aimed 
at  for  his  Majesty.  Thinking  that  I  spoke  thus  only  to  brag, 
and  not  because  it  was  the  truth,  he  made  the  Cardinal  of 
Lorraine  repeat  what  he  had  said;  but  I  explained  my  rea- 
sons so  fully  and  clearly,  that  the  Cardinal  perceived  my  drift; 
he  then  advised  the  King  to  let  me  labour  as  much  or  little 

as  I  liked. 

XVI 

Being  very  well  satisfied  with  what  he  had  seen,  the  King 
returned  to  his  palace,  after  bestowing  on  me  too  many  marks 
of  favour  to  be  here  recorded.     On  the  following  day  he 

'  These  personages  were  Madame  d'Etampes,  John  of  Lorraine,  son  of 
Duke  Renee  IT,  who  was  made  Cardinal  in  1518  ;  Henri  d'Albret  II  and 
Marguerite  de  Valois,  his  wife;  the  Dauphin,  afterward  Henri  II,  and 
his  wife,  the  celebrated  Caterina  de'  Medici,  daughter  of  Lorenzo,  Duke 
of  Urbino. 


2 


3 


a 
z 

H 

I— t 

V3 


i 


MEMOIRS 


271 


sent  for  mc  at  his  dinner-hour.  The  Cardinal  of  Ferrara 
was  there  at  meat  with  him.  When  I  arrived,  the  King  had 
reached  his  second  course;  he  began  at  once  to  speak  to 
me,  saying,  with  a  pleasant  cheer,  that  having  now  so  fine 
a  basin  and  jug  of  my  workmanship,  he  wanted  an  equally 
handsome  salt-cellar  to  match  them;  and  begged  me  to  make 
a  design,  and  to  lose  no  time  about  it.  I  replied:  "  Your 
Majesty  shall  see  a  model  of  the  sort  even  sooner  than  you 
have  commanded;  for  while  I  was  making  the  basin,  I  thought 
there  ought  to  be  a  salt-cellar  to  match  it;  therefore  I  have 
already  designed  one,  and  if  it  is  your  pleasure,  I  will  at  once 
exhibit  my  conception."  The  King  turned  with  a  lively  move- 
ment of  surprise  and  pleasure  to  the  lords  in  his  company — 
they  were  the  King  of  Navarre,  the  Cardinal  of  Lorraine,  and 
the  Cardinal  of  Ferrara — exclaiming  as  he  did  so:  "  Upon  my 
word,  this  is  a  man  to  be  loved  and  cherished  by  every  one 
who  knows  him."  Then  he  told  me  that  he  would  very  gladly 
see  my  model. 

I  set  off,  and  returned  in  a  few  minutes;  for  I  had  only  to 
cross  the  river,  that  is,  the  Seine.  I  carried  wath  me  the  wax 
model  which  I  had  made  in  Rome  at  the  Cardinal  of  Ferrara's 
request.  When  I  appeared  again  before  the  King  and  un- 
covered my  piece,  he  cried  out  in  astonishment:  "This  is 
a  hundred  times  more  divine  a  thing  than  I  had  ever  dreamed 
of.  What  a  miracle  of  a  man!  He  ought  never  to  stop  work- 
ing," Then  he  turned  to  me  with  a  beaming  countenance, 
and  told  me  that  he  greatly  liked  the  piece,  and  wished  me 
to  execute  it  in  gold.  The  Cardinal  of  Ferrara  looked  me 
in  the  face,  and  let  me  understand  that  he  recognised  the 
model  as  the  same  which  I  had  made  for  him  in  Rome.  I 
replied  that  I  had  already  told  him  I  should  carry  it  out  for 
one  who  was  worthy  of  it.  The  Cardinal,  remembering  my 
words,  and  nettled  by  the  revenge  he  thought  that  I  was  tak- 
ing on  him,  remarked  to  the  King:  "  Sire,  this  is  an  enormous 
undertaking;  I  am  only  afraid  that  we  shall  never  see  it  fin- 
ished. These  able  artists  who  have  great  conceptions  in  their 
brain  are  ready  enough  to  put  the  same  in  execution  without 
duly  considering  when  they  are  to  be  accomplished.  I  there- 
fore, if  I  gave  commission  for  things  of  such  magnitude, 
should  like  to  know  when  I  was  likely  to  get  them."  The 
King  replied  that  if  a  man  was  so  scrupulous  about  the  ter- 


2/2 


CELLINI 


mination  of  a  work,  he  would  never  begin  anything  at  all; 
these  words  he  uttered  with  a  certain  look,  which  implied 
that  such  enterprises  were  not  for  folk  of  little  spirit.  I  then 
began  to  say  my  say:  "Princes  who  put  heart  and  courage 
in  their  servants,  as  your  Majesty  does  by  deed  and  word, 
render  undertakings  of  the  greatest  magnitude  quite  easy. 
Now  that  God  has  sent  me  so  magnificent  a  patron,  I  hope 
to  perform  for  him  a  multitude  of  great  and  splendid  master- 
pieces." "  I  believe  it,"  said  the  King,  and  rose  from  table. 
Then  he  called  me  into  his  chamber,  and  asked  how  much 
gold  was  wanted  for  the  salt-cellar.  "  A  thousand  crowns," 
I  answered.  He  called  his  treasurer  at  once,  who  was  the 
Viscount  of  Orbec,  and  ordered  him  that  very  day  to  disburse 
to  me  a  thousand  crowns  of  good  weight  and  old  gold. 

When  I  left  his  Majesty,  I  went  for  the  two  notaries  who 
had  helped  me  in  procuring  silver  for  the  Jupiter  and  many 
other  things.  Crossing  the  Seine,  I  then  took  a  small  hand- 
basket,  which  one  of  my  cousins,  a  nun,  had  given  me  on  my 
journey  through  Florence.  It  made  for  my  good  fortune  that 
I  took  this  basket  and  not  a  bag.  So  then,  thinking  I  could 
do  the  business  by  daylight,  for  it  was  still  early,  and  not 
caring  to  interrupt  my  workmen,  and  being  indisposed  to  take 
a  servant  with  me,  I  set  off  alone.  When  I  reached  the  house 
of  the  treasurer,  I  found  that  he  had  the  money  laid  out  before 
him,  and  was  selecting  the  best  pieces  as  the  King  had  or- 
dered. It  seemed  to  me,  however,  that  that  thief  of  a  treas- 
urer was  doing  all  he  could  to  postpone  the  payment  of  the 
money;  nor  were  the  pieces  counted  out  until  three  hours 
after  nightfall. 

I  meanwhile  was  not  wanting  in  despatch,  for  I  sent  word 
to  several  of  my  journeymen  that  they  should  come  and  attend 
me,  since  the  matter  was  one  of  serious  importance.  When 
I  found  that  they  did  not  arrive,  I  asked  the  messenger  if  he 
had  done  my  errand.  The  rascal  of  a  groom  whom  I  had  sent 
replied  that  he  had  done  so,  but  that  they  had  answered  that 
they  could  not  come;  he,  however,  would  gladly  carry  the 
money  for  me.  I  answered  that  I  meant  to  carry  the  money 
myself.  By  this  time  the  contract  was  drawn  up  and  signed. 
On  the  money  being  counted,  I  put  it  all  into  my  little  basket, 
and  then  thrust  my  arm  through  the  two  handles.  Since  I 
did  this  with  some  difficulty,  the  gold  was  well  shut  in,  and 


MEMOIRS  273 

I  carried  it  more  conveniently  than  if  the  vehicle  had  been  a 
bag.  I  was  well  armed  with  shirt  and  sleeves  of  mail,  and 
having  my  sword  and  dagger  at  my  side,  made  ofif  along  the 
street  as  quick  as  my  two  legs  would  carry  me. 

XVII 

Just  as  I  left  the  house,  I  observed  some  servants  whis- 
pering among  themselves,  who  also  went  oflf  at  a  round  pace 
in  another  direction  from  the  one  I  took.  Walking  with  all 
haste,  I  passed  the  bridge  of  the  Exchange,^  and  went  up 
along  a  wall  beside  the  river  which  led  to  my  lodging  in  the 
castle.  I  had  just  come  to  the  Augustines — now  this  was 
a  very  perilous  passage,  and  though  it  was  only  five  hundred 
paces  distant  from  my  dwelling,  yet  the  lodging  in  the  castle 
being  quite  as  far  removed  inside,  no  one  could  have  heard 
my  voice  if  I  had  shouted — when  I  saw  four  men  with  four 
swords  in  their  hands  advancing  to  attack  me.  My  resolu- 
tion was  taken  in  an  instant.  I  covered  the  basket  with  my 
cape,  drew  my  sword,  and  seeing  that  they  were  pushing 
hotly  forward,  cried  aloud:  "With  soldiers  there  is  only  the 
cape  and  sword  to  gain;  and  these,  before  I  give  them  up, 
I  hope  you'll  get  not  much  to  your  advantage."  Then  cross- 
ing my  sword  boldly  with  them,  I  more  than  once  spread 
out  my  arms,  in  order  that,  if  the  ruffians  were  put  on  by 
the  servants  who  had  seen  me  take  my  money,  they  might 
be  led  to  judge  I  was  not  carrying  it.  The  encounter  was 
soon  over;  for  they  retired  step  by  step,  saying  among  them- 
selves in  their  own  language:  "This  is  a  brave  Italian,  and 
certainly  not  the  man  we  are  after;  or  if  he  be  the  man,  he 
can  not  be  carrying  anything."  I  spoke  Italian,  and  kept 
harrying  them  with  thrust  and  slash  so  hotly  that  I  narrowly 
missed  killing  one  or  the  other.  My  skill  in  using  the  sword 
made  them  think  I  was  a  soldier  rather  than  a  fellow  of  some 
other  calling.  They  drew  together  and  began  to  fall  back, 
muttering  all  the  while  beneath  their  breath  in  their  own 
tongue.  I  meanwhile  continued  always  calling  out,  but  not 
too  loudly,  that  those  who  wanted  my  cape  and  blade  would 
have  to  get  them  with  some  trouble.  Then  I  quickened  pace, 
while  they  still  followed  slowly  at  my  heels;  this  augmented 
my  fear,  for  I  thought  T  might  be  falling  into  an  ambuscade, 

"  The  Pont  du  Change,  replaced  by  the  Pont  Neuf. 


274 


CELLINI 


which  would  have  cut  me  off  in  front  as  well  as  rear.  Ac- 
cordingly, when  I  was  at  the  distance  of  a  hundred  paces 
from  my  home,  I  ran  with  all  my  might,  and  shouted  at  the 
top  of  my  voice:  "  To  arms,  to  arms!  out  with  you,  out  with 
you!  I  am  being  murdered."  In  a  moment  four  of  my  young 
men  came  running,  with  four  pikes  in  their  hands.  They 
wanted  to  pursue  the  ruffians,  who  could  still  be  seen;  but  I 
stopped  them,  calling  back  so  as  to  let  the  villains  hear: 
"  Those  cowards  yonder,  four  against  one  man  alone,  had  not 
pluck  enough  to  capture  a  thousand  golden  crowns  in  metal, 
which  have  almost  broken  this  arm  of  mine.  Let  us  haste 
inside  and  put  the  money  away;  then  I  will  take  my  big  two- 
handed  sword,  and  go  with  you  whithersoever  you  like."  We 
went  inside  to  secure  the  gold;  and  my  lads,  while  expressing 
deep  concern  for  the  peril  I  had  run,  gently  chided  me,  and 
said:  "  You  risk  yourself  too  much  alone;  the  time  will  come 
when  you  will  make  us  all  bemoan  your  loss."  A  thousand 
words  and  exclamations  were  exchanged  between  us;  my 
adversaries  took  to  flight;  and  we  all  sat  down  and  supped 
together  with  mirth  and  gladness,  laughing  over  those  great 
blows  which  fortune  strikes,  for  good  as  well  as  evil,  and 
which,  what  time  they  do  not  hit  the  mark,  are  just  the  same 
as  though  they  had  not  happened.  It  is  very  true  that  one 
says  to  oneself:  "  You  will  have  had  a  lesson  for  next  time." 
But  that  is  not  the  case;  for  fortune  always  comes  upon  us 
in  new  ways,  quite  unforeseen  by  our  imagination. 

XVIII 

On  the  morning  which  followed  these  events,  I  made  the 
first  step  in  my  work  upon  the  great  salt-cellar,  pressing  this 
and  my  other  pieces  forward  with  incessant  industry.  My 
workpeople  at  this  time,  who  were  pretty  numerous,  included 
both  sculptors  and  goldsmiths.  They  belonged  to  several 
nations,  Italians,  French,  and  German;  for  I  took  the  best 
I  could  find,  and  changed  them  often,  retaining  only  those 
who  knew  their  business  well.  These  select  craftsmen  I 
worked  to  the  bone  with  perpetual  labour.  They  wanted 
to  rival  me;  but  I  had  a  better  constitution.  Consequently, 
in  their  inability  to  bear  up  against  such  a  continuous  strain, 
they  took  to  eating  and  drinking  copiously;  some  of  the 
Germans   in   particular,   who  were   more   skilled   than   their 


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275 


comrades,  and  wanted  to  march  apace  with  me,  sank  under 
these  excesses,  and  perished. 

While  I  was  at  work  upon  the  Jupiter,  I  noticed  that  I 
had  plenty  of  silver  to  spare.  So  I  took  in  hand,  without 
consulting  the  King,  to  make  a  great  two-handled  vase,  about 
one  cubit  and  a  half  in  height.  I  also  conceived  the  notion 
of  casting  the  large  model  of  my  Jupiter  in  bronze.  Having 
up  to  this  date  done  nothing  of  the  sort,  I  conferred  with 
certain  old  men  experienced  in  that  art  at  Paris,  and  described 
to  them  the  methods  in  use  with  us  in  Italy.  They  told  me 
they  had  never  gone  that  way  about  the  business;  but  that  if 
I  gave  them  leave  to  act  upon  their  own  principles,  they 
would  bring  the  bronze  out  as  clean  and  perfect  as  the  clay. 
I  chose  to  strike  an  agreement,  throwing  on  them  the  respon- 
sibility, and  promising  several  crowns  above  the  price  they 
bargained  for.  Thereupon  they  put  the  work  in  progress; 
but  I  soon  saw  that  they  were  going  the  wrong  way  about 
it,  and  began  on  my  own  account  a  head  of  Julius  Caesar,  bust 
and  armour,  much  larger  than  the  life,  which  I  modelled  from 
a  reduced  copy  of  a  splendid  antique  portrait  I  had  brought 
with  me  from  Rome.  I  also  undertook  another  head  of  the 
same  size,  studied  from  a  very  handsome  girl.  I  called  this 
Fontainebleau,  after  the  place  selected  by  the  King  for  his 
particular  delight. 

We  constructed  an  admirable  little  furnace  for  the  casting 
of  the  bronze,  got  all  things  ready,  and  baked  our  moulds; 
those  French  masters  undertaking  the  Jupiter,  while  I  looked 
after  my  two  heads.  Then  I  said:  "  I  do  not  think  you  will 
succeed  with  your  Jupiter,  because  you  have  not  provided 
sufficient  vents  beneath  for  the  air  to  circulate;  therefore  you 
are  but  losing  your  time  and  trouble."  They  replied  that, 
if  their  work  proved  a  failure,  they  would  pay  back  the  money 
I  had  given  on  account,  and  recoup  me  for  current  expenses; 
but  they  bade  me  give  good  heed  to  my  own  proceedings, 
for  the  fine  heads  I  meant  to  cast  in  my  Italian  fashion  would 
never  succeed. 

At  this  dispute  between  us  there  were  present  the  treas- 
urers and  other  gentlefolk  commissioned  by  the  King  to 
superintend  my  proceedings.  Everything  which  passed  by 
word  or  act  was  duly  reported  to  his  Majesty.  The  two 
old  men  who  had  undertaken  to  cast  my  Jupiter  postponed 


2/6 


CELLINI 


the  experiment,  saying  they  would  Hke  to  arrange  the  moulds 
of  my  two  heads.  They  argued  that,  according  to  my  method, 
no  success  could  be  expected,  and  it  was  a  pity  to  waste  such 
fine  models.  When  the  King  was  informed  of  this,  he  sent 
word  that  they  should  give  their  minds  to  learning,  and  not 
try  to  teach  their  master. 

So  then  they  put  their  own  piece  into  the  furnace  with 
much  laughter;  while  I,  maintaining  a  firm  carriage,  show- 
ing neither  mirth  nor  anger  (though  I  felt  it),  placed  my  two 
heads,  one  on  each  side  of  the  Jupiter.  The  metal  came  all 
right  to  melting,  and  we  let  it  in  with  joy  and  gladness;  it 
filled  the  mould  of  the  Jupiter  most  admirably,  and  at  the 
same  time  my  two  heads.  This  furnished  them  with  matter 
for  rejoicing  and  me  with  satisfaction;  for  I  was  not  sorry 
to  have  predicted  wrongly  of  their  work,  and  they  made  as 
though  they  were  delighted  to  have  been  mistaken  about 
mine.  Then,  as  the  custom  in  France  is,  they  asked  to  drink, 
in  high  good  spirits.  I  was  very  willing,  and  ordered  a  hand- 
some collation  for  their  entertainment.  When  this  was  over, 
they  requested  me  to  pay  the  money  due  to  them  and  the  sur- 
plus I  had  promised.  I  replied:  "You  have  been  laughing 
over  what,  I  fear,  may  make  you  weep.  On  reflection,  it 
seems  to  me  that  too  much  metal  flowed  into  your  mould. 
Therefore  I  shall  wait  until  to-morrow  before  I  disburse  more 
money."  The  poor  fellows  swallowed  my  words  and  chewed 
the  cud  of  them;  then  they  went  home  without  further 
argument. 

At  daybreak  they  began,  quite  quietly,  to  break  into  the 
pit  of  the  furnace.  They  could  not  uncover  their  large  mould 
until  they  had  extracted  my  two  heads;  these  were  in  excel- 
lent condition,  and  they  placed  them  where  they  could  be 
well  seen.  When  they  came  to  Jupiter,  and  had  dug  but 
scarcely  two  cubits,  they  sent  up  such  a  yell,  they  and  their 
four  workmen,  that  it  woke  me  up.  Fancying  it  was  a  shout 
of  triumph,  I  set  off  running,  for  my  bedroom  was  at  the 
distance  of  more  than  five  hundred  paces.  On  reaching  the 
spot,  I  found  them  looking  like  the  guardians  of  Christ's 
sepulchre  in  a  picture,  downcast  and  terrified.  Casting  a 
hasty  glance  upon  my  two  heads,  and  seeing  they  were  all 
right,  I  tempered  my  annoyance  with  the  pleasure  that  sight 
gave  me.     Then  they  began  to  make  excuses,  crying:  "Our 


MEMOIRS 


277 


bad  luck!  "  I  retorted:  "  Your  luck  has  been  most  excellent, 
but  what  has  been  indeed  bad  is  your  deficiency  of  knowledge; 
had  I  only  seen  you  put  the  soul  ^  into  your  mould,  I  could 
have  taught  you  with  one  word  how  to  cast  the  figure  with- 
out fault.  This  would  have  brought  me  great  honour  and 
you  much  profit.  I  shall  be  able  to  make  good  my  reputa- 
tion ;  but  you  will  now  lose  both  your  honour  and  your  profit. 
Let  then  this  lesson  teach  you  another  time  to  work,  and  not 
to  poke  fun  at  your  masters." 

They  prayed  me  to  have  pity  on  them,  confessing  I  was 
right,  but  pleading  that,  unless  I  helped  them,  the  costs  they 
had  to  bear  and  the  loss  they  had  sustained  would  turn  them 
and  their  families  upon  the  streets  a-begging.  I  answered 
that  if  the  King's  treasurers  obliged  them  to  pay  according 
to  their  contract,  I  would  defray  the  cost  out  of  my  own 
purse,  because  I  saw  that  they  had  honestly  and  heartily  per- 
formed their  task  according  to  their  knowledge.  This  way 
of  mine  in  dealing  with  them  raised  the  good-will  of  the  King's 
treasurers  and  other  officers  toward  me  to  a  pitch  which  can 
not  be  described.  The  whole  afifair  was  written  to  his  Majesty, 
who  being  without  a  paragon  for  generosity,  gave  directions 
that  all  I  ordered  in  this  matter  should  be  done. 

XIX 

About  this  time  the  illustrious  soldier  Piero  Strozzi  ar- 
rived in  France,  and  reminded  the  King  that  he  had  promised 
him  letters  of  naturalization.^  These  were  accordingly  made 
out;  and  at  the  same  time  the  King  said:  "  Let  them  be  also 
given  to  Benvenuto,  mon  ami,  and  take  them  immediately 
to  his  house,  and  let  him  have  them  without  the  payment  of 
any  fees."  Those  of  the  great  Strozzi  cost  him  several  hun- 
dred ducats:  mine  were  brought  me  by  one  of  the  King's 
chief  secretaries,  Messer  Antonio  Massone.^  This  gentleman 
presented  them  with  many  expressions  of  kindness  from  his 
Majesty,  saying:  "The  King  makes  you  a  gift  of  these,  in 
order  that  you  may  be  encouraged  to  serve  him;  they  are 

'  The  soul  is  a  block,  somewhat  smaller  than  the  mould,  which  bronze- 
founders  insert  in  order  to  obtain  a  hollow,  and  not  a  solid  cast  from  the 
mould  which  gives  form  to  their  liquid  metal. 

'  Piero  was  the  son  of  Filippo  Strozzi,  and  the  general  who  lost  the 
battle  of  Montemurlo,  so  disastrous  to  the  Florentine  exiles,  in  1537. 

'  Antoine  le  Ma9on,  secretary  to  Margaret  of  Navarre. 


2/8  CELLINI 

letters  of  naturalization."  Then  he  told  me  how  they  had 
been  given  to  Piero  Strozzi  at  his  particular  request,  and  only 
after  a  long  time  of  waiting,  as  a  special  mark  of  favour;  the 
King  had  sent  mine  of  his  own  accord,  and  such  an  act  of 
grace  had  never  been  heard  of  in  that  realm  before.  When 
I  heard  these  words,  I  thanked  his  Majesty  with  heartiness; 
but  I  begged  the  secretary  to  have  the  kindness  to  tell  me 
what  letters  of  naturalization  meant.  He  was  a  man  accom- 
plished and  polite,  who  spoke  Italian  excellently.  At  first 
my  question  made  him  laugh;  then  he  recovered  his  gravity, 
and  told  me  in  my  own  language  what  the  papers  signified, 
adding  that  they  conferred  one  of  the  highest  dignities  a  for- 
eigner could  obtain :  "  indeed,  it  is  a  far  greater  honour  than 
to  be  made  a  nobleman  of  Venice." 

When  he  left  me,  he  returned  and  told  his  Majesty,  who 
laughed  awhile,  and  then  said:  "  Now  I  wish  him  to  know 
my  object  in  sending  those  letters  of  naturalization.  Go  and 
install  him  lord  of  the  castle  of  the  Little  Nello,  where  he 
lives,  and  which  is  a  part  of  my  demesne.  He  will  know 
what  that  means  better  than  he  understood  about  the  letters 
of  naturalization."  A  messenger  brought  me  the  patent,  upon 
which  I  wanted  to  give  him  a  gratuity.  He  refused  to  accept 
it,  saying  that  his  Majesty  had  so  ordered.  These  letters 
of  naturalization,  together  with  the  patent  for  the  castle,  I 
brought  with  me  when  I  returned  to  Italy;  wherever  I  go 
and  wherever  I  may  end  my  days,  I  shall  endeavour  to  pre- 
serve them. 

XX 

I  shall  now  proceed  with  the  narration  of  my  life.  I  had 
on  hand  the  following  works  already  mentioned,  namely,  the 
silver  Jupiter,  the  golden  salt-cellar,  the  great  silver  vase,  and 
the  two  bronze  heads.  I  also  began  to  cast  the  pedestal  for 
Jupiter,  which  I  wrought  very  richly  in  bronze,  covered  with 
ornaments,  among  which  was  a  bas-relief,  representing  the 
rape  of  Ganymede,  and  on  the  other  side  Leda  and  the  Swan. 
On  casting  this  piece  it  came  out  admirably.  I  also  made 
another  pedestal  of  the  same  sort  for  the  statue  of  Juno,  in- 
tending to  begin  that  too,  if  the  King  gave  me  silver  for  the 
purpose.  By  working  briskly  I  had  put  together  the  silver 
Jupiter  and  the  golden  salt-cellar;  the  vase  was  far  advanced; 
the  two  bronze  heads  were  finished.    I  had  also  made  several 


MEMOIRS 


279 


little  things  for  the  Cardinal  of  Ferrara,  and  a  small  silver  vase 
of  rich  workmanship,  which  I  meant  to  present  to  Madame 
d'Etampes.  Several  Italian  noblemen,  to  wit,  Signor  Piero 
Strozzi,  the  Count  of  Anguillara,  the  Count  of  Pitigliano, 
the  Count  of  Mirandola,  and  many  others,  gave  me  employ- 
ment also.* 

For  my  great  King,  as  I  have  said,  I  had  been  working 
strenuously,  and  the  third  day  after  he  returned  to  Paris,  he 
came  to  my  house,  attended  by  a  crowd  of  his  chief  nobles. 
He  marvelled  to  find  how  many  pieces  I  had  advanced,  and 
with  what  excellent  results.  His  mistress,  Madame  d'Etampes, 
being  with  him,  they  began  to  talk  of  Fontainebleau.  She 
told  his  Majesty  he  ought  to  commission  me  to  execute  some- 
thing beautiful  for  the  decoration  of  his  favourite  residence. 
He  answered  on  the  instant:  "  You  say  well,  and  here  upon 
the  spot  I  will  make  up  my  mind  what  I  mean  him  to  do," 
Then  he  turned  to  me,  and  asked  me  what  I  thought  would 
be  appropriate  for  that  beautiful  fountain.  I  suggested  sev- 
eral ideas,  and  his  Majesty  expressed  his  own  opinion.  After- 
ward he  said  that  he  was  going  to  spend  fifteen  or  twenty 
days  at  San  Germano  del  Aia,  a  place  twelve  leagues  distant 
from  Paris;  in  his  absence  he  wished  me  to  make  a  model 
for  that  fair  fountain  of  his  in  the  richest  style  I  could  invent, 
seeing  he  delighted  in  that  residence  more  than  in  anything 
else  in  his  whole  realm.  Accordingly  he  commanded  and 
besought  me  to  do  my  utmost  to  produce  something  really 
beautiful;  and  I  promised  that  I  would  do  so. 

When  the  King  saw  so  many  finished  things  before  him, 
he  exclaimed  to  Madame  d'Etampes:  "  I  never  had  an  artist 
who  pleased  me  more,  nor  one  who  deserved  better  to  be 
well  rewarded;  we  must  contrive  to  keep  him  with  us.  He 
spends  freely,  is  a  boon  companion,  and  works  hard;  we 
must  therefore  take  good  thought  for  him.  Only  think, 
madam,  all  the  times  that  he  has  come  to  me  or  that  I  have 
come  to  him,  he  has  never  once  asked  for  anything;  one 
can  see  that  his  heart  is  entirely  devoted  to  his  work.     We 

•  Anguillara  and  Pitigliano  were  fiefs  of  two  separate  branches  of  the 
Orsini  family.  The  house  of  Pico  lost  their  lordship  of  Mirandola  in 
1536,  when  Galeotto  Pico  took  refuge  with  his  sons  in  France.  His  de- 
scendants renewed  their  hold  upon  the  fief,  which  was  erected  into  a 
duchy  in  1619. 


28o  CELLINI 

ought  to  make  a  point  of  doing  something  for  him  quickly, 
else  we  run  a  risk  of  losing  him."  Madame  d'Etampes 
answered:  "  I  will  be  sure  to  remind  you."  Then  they  de- 
parted, and  in  addition  to  the  things  I  had  begun,  I  now 
took  the  model  of  the  fountain  in  hand,  at  which  I  worked 

assiduously. 

XXI 

At  the  end  of  a  month  and  a  half  the  King  returned  to 
Paris;  and  I,  who  had  been  working  day  and  night,  went 
to  present  myself  before  him,  taking  my  model,  so  well 
blocked  out  that  my  intention  could  be  clearly  understood. 
Just  about  that  time,  the  devilries  of  war  between  the  Em- 
peror and  King  had  been  stirred  up  again,  so  that  I  found 
him  much  harassed  by  anxieties.^  I  spoke,  however,  with 
the  Cardinal  of  Ferrara,  saying  I  had  brought  some  models 
which  his  Majesty  had  ordered,  and  begging  him,  if  he  found 
an  opportunity,  to  put  in  a  word  whereby  I  might  be  able 
to  exhibit  them;  the  King,  I  thought,  would  take  much  pleas- 
ure in  their  sight.  This  the  Cardinal  did;  and  no  sooner 
had  he  spoken  of  the  models,  than  the  King  came  to  the  place 
where  I  had  set  them  up.  The  first  of  these  was  intended 
for  the  door  of  the  palace  at  Fontainebleau.  I  had  been 
obliged  to  make  some  alterations  in  the  architecture  of  this 
door,  which  was  wide  and  low,  in  their  vicious  French  style. 
The  opening  was  very  nearly  square,  and  above  it  was  a  hemi- 
cycle,  flattened  like  the  handle  of  a  basket;  here  the  King 
wanted  a  figure  placed  to  represent  the  genius  of  Fontaine- 
bleau. I  corrected  the  proportions  of  the  doorway,  and  placed 
above  it  an  exact  half  circle;  at  the  sides  I  introduced  pro- 
jections, with  socles  and  cornices  properly  corresponding: 
then,  instead  of  the  columns  demanded  by  this  disposition  of 
parts,  I  fashioned  two  satyrs,  one  upon  each  side.  The  first 
of  these  was  in  somewhat  more  than  half-relief,  lifting  one 
hand  to  support  the  cornice,  and  holding  a  thick  club  in  the 
other;  his  face  was  fiery  and  menacing,  instilling  fear  into 
the  beholders.  The  other  had  the  same  posture  of  support; 
but  I  varied  his  features  and  some  other  details;  in  his  hand, 
for  instance,  he  held  a  lash  with  three  balls  attached  to  chains. 
Though  I  call  them  satyrs,  they  showed  nothing  of  the  satyr 
except  little  horns  and  a  goatish  head;  all  the  rest  of  their 
'  Hostilities  were  renewed  in  May,  1542. 


MEMOIRS  281 

form  was  human.  In  the  lunette  above  I  placed  a  female 
figure  lying  in  an  attitude  of  noble  grace;  she  rested  her  left 
arm  on  a  stag's  neck,  this  animal  being  one  of  the  King's 
emblems.  On  one  side  I  worked  little  fawns  in  half-relief, 
with  some  wild  boars  and  other  game  in  lower  relief;  on  the 
other  side  were  hounds  and  divers  dogs  of  the  chase  of  sev- 
eral species,  such  as  may  be  seen  in  that  fair  forest  where 
the  fountain  springs.  The  whole  of  this  composition  was  in- 
closed in  an  oblong,  each  angle  of  which  contained  a  Victory 
in  bas-relief,  holding  torches  after  the  manner  of  the  ancients. 
Above  the  oblong  was  a  salamander,  the  King's  particular 
device,  with  many  other  ornaments  appropriate  to  the  Ionic 
architecture  of  the  whole  design. 

XXII 

When  the  King  had  seen  this  model,  it  restored  him  to 
cheerfulness,  and  distracted  his  mind  from  the  fatiguing  de- 
bates he  had  been  holding  during  the  past  two  hours.  Seeing 
him  cheerful  as  I  wished,  I  uncovered  the  other  model,  which 
he  was  far  from  expecting,  since  he  not  unreasonably  judged 
that  the  first  had  work  in  it  enough.  This  one  was  a  little 
higher  than  two  cubits;  it  figured  a  fountain  shaped  in  a  per- 
fect square,  with  handsome  steps  all  round,  intersecting  each 
other  in  a  way  which  was  unknown  in  France,  and  is  indeed 
very  uncommon  in  Italy.  In  the  middle  of  the  fountain  I 
set  a  pedestal,  projecting  somewhat  above  the  margin  of 
the  basin,  and  upon  this  a  nude  male  figure,  of  the  right  pro- 
portion to  the  whole  design,  and  of  a  very  graceful  form. 
In  his  right  hand  he  raised  a  broken  lance  on  high;  his  left 
hand  rested  on  a  scimitar;  he  was  poised  upon  the  left  foot, 
the  right  being  supported  by  a  helmet  of  the  richest  imagin- 
able workmanship.  At  each  of  the  four  angles  of  the  fountain 
a  figure  was  sitting,  raised  above  the  level  of  the  base,  and 
accompanied  by  many  beautiful  and  appropriate  emblems. 

The  King  began  by  asking  me  what  I  meant  to  represent 
by  the  fine  fancy  I  had  embodied  in  this  design,  saying  that 
he  had  understood  the  door  without  explanation,  but  that 
he  could  not  take  the  conception  of  my  fountain,  although 
it  seemed  to  him  most  beautiful;  at  the  same  time,  he  knew 
well  that  I  was  not  like  those  foolish  folk  who  turn  out  some- 
thing with  a  kind  of  grace,  but  put  no  intention  into  their 


282  CELLINI 

performances.  I  then  addressed  myself  to  the  task  of  exposi- 
tion; for  having  succeeded  in  pleasing  him  with  my  work,  I 
wanted  him  to  be  no  less  pleased  with  my  discourse.  "  Let 
me  inform  your  sacred  Majesty,"  I  thus  began,  "  that  the 
whole  of  this  model  is  so  exactly  made  to  scale,  that,  if  it 
should  come  to  being  executed  in  the  large,  none  of  its  grace 
and  lightness  will  be  sacrificed.  The  figure  in  the  middle  is 
meant  to  stand  fifty-four  feet  above  the  level  of  the  ground." 
At  this  announcement  the  King  made  a  sign  of  surprise.  "  It 
is,  moreover,  intended  to  represent  the  god  Mars.  The  other 
figures  embody  those  arts  and  sciences  in  which  your  Majesty 
takes  pleasure,  and  which  you  so  generously  patronize.  This 
one,  upon  the  right  hand,  is  designed  for  Learning;  you  will 
observe  that  the  accompanying  emblems  indicate  Philosophy, 
and  her  attendant  branches  of  knowledge.  By  the  next  I 
wished  to  personify  the  whole  Art  of  Design,  including  Sculp- 
ture, Painting,  and  Architecture.  The  third  is  Music,  which 
can  not  be  omitted  from  the  sphere  of  intellectual  culture. 
That  other,  with  so  gracious  and  benign  a  mien,  stands  for 
Generosity,  lacking  which  the  mental  gifts  bestowed  on  us 
by  God  will  not  be  brought  to  view.  I  have  attempted  to 
portray  your  Majesty,  your  very  self,  in  the  great  central 
statue;  for  you  are  truly  a  god  Mars,  the  only  brave  upon  this 
globe,  and  all  your  bravery  you  use  with  justice  and  with 
piety  in  the  defence  of  your  own  glory."  Scarcely  had  he 
allowed  me  to  finish  this  oration,  when  he  broke  forth  with 
a  strong  voice :  "  Verily  I  have  found  a  man  here  after  my 
own  heart."  Then  he  called  the  treasurers  who  were  ap- 
pointed for  my  supplies,  and  told  them  to  disburse  whatever 
I  required,  let  the  cost  be  what  it  might.  Next,  he  laid  his 
hand  upon  my  shoulder,  saying:  "  Mon  ami  (which  is  the 
same  as  '  my  friend  '),  I  know  not  whether  the  pleasure  be 
greater  for  the  prince  who  finds  a  man  after  his  own  heart, 
or  for  the  artist  who  finds  a  prince  willing  to  furnish  him  with 
means  for  carrying  out  his  great  ideas."  I  answered  that, 
if  I  was  really  the  man  his  Majesty  described,  my  good  for- 
tune was  by  far  the  greater.  He  answered  laughingly:  "  Let 
us  agree,  then,  that  our  luck  is  equal !  "  Then  I  departed  in 
the  highest  spirits,  and  went  back  to  my  work. 


MEMOIRS  283 

XXIII 

My  ill-luck  willed  that  I  was  not  wide-awake  enough  to 
play  the  like  comedy  with  Madame  d'Etampes.  That  even- 
ing, when  she  heard  the  whole  course  of  events  from  the 
King's  own  lips,  it  bred  such  poisonous  fury  in  her  breast  that 
she  exclaimed  with  anger:  "  If  Benvenuto  had  shown  me 
those  fine  things  of  his,  he  would  have  given  me  some  reason 
to  be  mindful  of  him  at  the  proper  moment."  The  King 
sought  to  excuse  me,  but  he  made  no  impression  on  her  tem- 
per. Being  informed  of  what  had  passed,  I  waited  fifteen 
days,  during  which  they  made  a  tour  through  Normandy, 
visiting  Rouen  and  Dieppe;  then,  when  they  returned  to  S. 
Germain-en-Laye,  I  took  the  handsome  little  vase  which  I 
had  made  at  the  request  of  Madame  d'Etampes,  hoping,  if  I 
gave  it  her,  to  recover  the  favour  I  had  lost.  With  this  in 
my  hand,  then,  I  announced  my  presence  to  her  nurse,  and 
showed  the  gift  which  I  had  brought  her  mistress;  the  woman 
received  me  with  demonstrations  of  good-will,  and  said  that 
she  would  speak  a  word  to  Madame,  who  was  still  engaged 
upon  her  toilette;  I  should  be  admitted  on  the  instant,  when 
she  had  discharged  her  embassy.  The  nurse  made  her  report 
in  full  to  Madame,  who  retorted  scornfully:  "Tell  him  to 
wait."  On  hearing  this,  I  clothed  myself  with  patience,  which 
of  all  things  I  find  the  most  difficult.  Nevertheless,  I  kept 
myself  under  control  until  the  hour  for  dinner  was  past.  Then, 
seeing  that  time  dragged  on,  and  being  maddened  by  hunger, 
I  could  no  longer  hold  out,  but  flung  oflf,  sending  her  most 
devoutly  to  the  devil. 

I  next  betook  myself  to  the  Cardinal  of  Lorraine,  and 
made  him  a  present  of  the  vase,  only  petitioning  his  Emi- 
nence to  maintain  me  in  the  King's  good  graces.  He  said 
there  was  no  need  for  this;  and  if  there  w^ere  need  he  would 
gladly  speak  for  me.  Then  he  called  his  treasurer,  and  whis- 
pered a  few  words  in  his  ear.  The  treasurer  waited  till  I 
took  my  leave  of  the  Cardinal;  after  which  he  said  to  me: 
"  Benvenuto,  come  with  me,  and  I  will  give  you  a  glass  of 
good  wine  to  drink."  I  answered,  not  understanding  what  he 
meant:  "  For  Heaven's  sake,  Mr.  Treasurer,  let  me  have  but 
one  glass  of  wine  and  a  mouthful  of  bread;  for  I  am  really 
fainting  for  want  of  food.  I  have  fasted  since  early  this  morn- 
ing up   to   the   present   moment,   at   the   door   of   Madame 


284  CELLINI 

d'Etampes;  I  went  to  give  her  that  fine  piece  of  silver-gilt 
plate,  and  took  pains  that  she  would  be  informed  of  my  in- 
tention; but  she,  with  the  mere  petty  will  to  vex  me,  bade 
me  wait;  now  I  am  famished,  and  feel  my  forces  failing;  and, 
as  God  willed  it,  I  have  bestowed  my  gift  and  labour  upon  one 
who  is  far  more  worthy  of  them.  I  only  crave  of  you  some- 
thing to  drink;  for  being  rather  too  bilious  by  nature,  fast 
upsets  me  so  that  I  run  the  risk  now  of  falling  from  exhaus- 
tion to  the  earth."  While  I  was  pumping  out  these  words 
with  difficulty,  they  brought  some  admirable  wine  and  other 
delicacies  for  a  hearty  meal.  I  refreshed  myself,  and  having 
recovered  my  vital  spirits,  found  that  my  exasperation  had 
departed  from  me. 

The  good  treasurer  handed  me  a  hundred  crowns  in  gold. 
I  sturdily  refused  to  accept  them.  He  reported  this  to  the 
Cardinal,  who  swore  at  him,  and  told  him  to  make  me  take  the 
money  by  force,  and  not  to  show  himself  again  till  he  had 
done  so.  The  treasurer  returned,  much  irritated,  saying  he 
had  never  been  so  scolded  before  by  the  Cardinal;  but  when 
he  pressed  the  crowns  upon  me,  I  still  offered  some  resist- 
ance. Then,  quite  angry,  he  said  he  would  use  force  to  make 
me  take  them.  So  I  accepted  the  money.  When  I  wanted 
to  thank  the  Cardinal  in  person,  he  sent  word  by  one  of  his 
secretaries  that  he  would  gladly  do  me  a  service  whenever 
the  occasion  offered.  I  returned  the  same  evening  to  Paris. 
The  King  heard  the  whole  history,  and  Madame  d'Etampes 
was  well  laughed  at  in  their  company.  This  increased  her 
animosity  against  me,  and  led  to  an  attack  upon  my  life,  of 
which  I  shall  speak  in  the  proper  time  and  place. 

XXIV 

Far  back  in  my  autobiography  I  ought  to  have  recorded 
the  friendship  which  I  won  with  the  most  cultivated,  the 
most  affectionate,  and  the  most  companionable  man  of  worth 
I  ever  knew  in  this  world.  He  was  Messer  Guido  Guidi,  an 
able  physician  and  doctor  of  medicine,  and  a  nobleman  of 
Florence.^     The  infinite  troubles  brought  upon  me  by  my 

'  Son  of  Giuliano  Guidi  and  Costanza,  a  daughter  of  Domenico  Ghir- 
landajo.  Francis  I  sent  for  him  some  time  before  1542,  appointed  him 
his  own  physician,  and  professor  of  medicine  in  the  Royal  College.  He 
returned  to  Florence  in  1548. 


MEMOIRS  285 

evil  fortune  caused  me  to  omit  the  mention  of  him  at  an  earHer 
date;  and  though  my  remembrance  may  be  but  a  trifle,  I 
deemed  it  sufficient  to  keep  him  always  in  my  heart.  Yet, 
finding  that  the  drama  of  my  life  requires  his  presence,  I  shall 
introduce  him  here  at  the  moment  of  my  greatest  trials,  in 
order  that,  as  he  was  then  my  comfort  and  support,  I  may 
now  recall  to  memory  the  good  he  did  me. 

Well,  then,  Messer  Guido  came  to  Paris;  and  not  long 
after  making  his  acquaintance,  I  took  him  to  my  castle,  and 
there  assigned  him  his  own  suite  of  apartments.  We  enjoyed 
our  lives  together  in  that  place  for  several  years.  The  Bishop 
of  Pavia,  that  is  to  say,  Monsignore  de'  Rossi,  brother  of  the 
Count  of  San  Secondo,  also  arrived.  This  gentleman  I  re- 
moved from  his  hotel,  and  took  him  to  my  castle,  assigning 
him  in  like  manner  his  own  suite  of  apartments,  where  he 
sojourned  many  months  with  serving-men  and  horses.  On 
another  occasion  I  lodged  Messer  Luigi  Alamanni  and  his 
sons  for  some  months.  It  was  indeed  God's  grace  to  me  that 
I  should  thus,  in  my  poor  station,  be  able  to  render  services 
to  men  of  great  position  and  acquirements. 

But  to  return  to  Messer  Guido.  We  enjoyed  our  mutual 
friendship  during  all  the  years  I  stayed  in  Paris,  and  often 
did  we  exult  together  on  being  able  to  advance  in  art  and 
knowledge  at  the  cost  of  that  so  great  and  admirable  prince, 
our  patron,  each  in  his  own  branch  of  industry.  I  can  in- 
deed, and  with  good  conscience,  affirm  that  all  I  am,  what- 
ever of  good  and  beautiful  I  have  produced,  all  this  must  be 
ascribed  to  that  extraordinary  monarch.  So,  then,  I  will 
resume  the  thread  of  my  discourse  concerning  him  and  the 
great  things  I  wrought  for  him. 

XXV 

I  had  a  tennis-court  in  my  castle,  from  which  I  drew  con- 
siderable profit.  The  building  also  contained  some  little 
dwellings  inhabited  by  different  sorts  of  men,  among  whom 
was  a  printer  of  books  of  much  excellence  in  his  own  trade. 
Nearly  the  whole  of  his  premises  lay  inside  the  castle,  and 
he  was  the  man  w^ho  printed  Messer  Guido's  first  fine  book 
on  medicine.^  Wanting  to  make  use  of  his  lodging,  I  turned 
him  out,  but  not  without  some  trouble.  There  was  also  a 
'  This  printer  was  Pierre  Sauthier. 


286  CELLINI 

manufacturer  of  saltpetre;  and  when  I  wished  to  assign  his 
apartments  to  some  of  my  German  workmen,  the  fellow  re- 
fused to  leave  the  place.  I  asked  him  over  and  over  again 
in  gentle  terms  to  give  me  up  my  rooms,  because  I  wanted 
to  employ  them  for  my  workpeople  in  the  service  of  the  King. 
The  more  moderately  I  spoke,  the  more  arrogantly  did  the 
brute  reply;  till  at  last  I  gave  him  three  days'  notice  to  quit. 
He  laughed  me  in  the  face,  and  said  that  he  would  begin  to 
think  of  it  at  the  end  of  three  years.  I  had  not  then  learned 
that  he  was  under  the  protection  of  Madame  d'Etampes;  but 
had  it  not  been  that  the  terms  on  which  I  stood  toward  that 
lady  made  me  a  little  more  circumspect  than  I  was  wont  to 
be,  I  should  have  ousted  him  at  once;  now,  however,  I 
thought  it  best  to  keep  my  temper  for  three  days.  When  the 
term  was  over,  I  said  nothing,  but  took  Germans,  Italians, 
and  Frenchmen,  bearing  arms,  and  many  hand-labourers 
whom  I  had  in  my  employ,  and  in  a  short  while  gutted  all 
his  house  and  flung  his  property  outside  my  castle.  I  re- 
sorted to  these  somewhat  rigorous  measures  because  he  had 
told  me  that  no  Italian  whom  he  knew  of  had  the  power  or 
spirit  to  remove  one  ring  of  iron  from  its  place  in  his  house. 
Well,  after  the  deed  was  done,  he  came  to  find  me,  and  I 
said  to  him:  "  I  am  the  least  of  all  Italians  in  Italy,  and  yet 
I  have  done  nothing  to  you  in  comparison  with  what  I  have 
the  heart  to  do,  and  will  do  if  you  utter  a  single  further  word," 
adding  other  terms  of  menace  and  abuse.  The  man,  dum- 
founded  and  aflfrighted,  got  his  furniture  together  as  well  as 
he  was  able;  then  he  ran  oflf  to  Madame  d'Etampes,  and 
painted  a  picture  of  me  like  the  very  fiend.  She  being  my 
great  enemy,  painted  my  portrait  still  blacker  to  the  King, 
with  all  her  greater  eloquence  and  all  her  greater  weight  of 
influence.  As  I  was  afterward  informed,  his  Majesty  twice 
showed  signs  of  irritation  and  was  minded  to  use  me  roughly: 
but  Henry  the  Dauphin,  his  son,  now  King  of  France,  who 
had  received  some  aflfronte  from  that  imperious  woman,  to- 
gether with  the  Queen  of  Navarre,  sister  to  King  Francis, 
espoused  my  cause  so  cleverly  that  he  passed  the  matter  over 
with  a  laugh.  So  with  God's  assistance  I  escaped  from  a 
great  danger. 


MEMOIRS  287 

XXVI 

I  had  to  deal  in  like  manner  with  another  fellow,  but  I 
did  not  ruin  his  house;  I  only  threw  all  his  furniture  out  of 
doors.  This  time  Madame  d'Etampes  had  the  insolence  to 
tell  the  King:  "  I  believe  that  devil  wall  sack  Paris  one  of 
these  days."  The  King  answered  with  some  anger  that  I 
was  only  quite  right  to  defend  myself  from  the  low  rabble  who 
put  obstacles  in  the  way  of  my  serving  him. 

The  rage  of  this  vindictive  woman  kept  continually  on  the 
increase.  She  sent  for  a  painter  who  was  established  at  Fon- 
tainebleau,  where  the  King  resided  nearly  all  his  time.  The 
painter  was  an  Italian  and  a  Bolognese,  known  then  as  II 
Bologna;  his  right  name,  however,  was  Francesco  Prima- 
ticcio.^  Madame  d'Etampes  advised  him  to  beg  that  com- 
mission for  the  fountain  which  his  Majesty  had  given  me, 
adding  that  she  would  support  him  with  all  her  ability;  and 
upon  this  they  agreed.  Bologna  was  in  an  ecstasy  of  happi- 
ness, and  thought  himself  sure  of  the  affair,  although  such 
things  were  not  in  his  line  of  art.  He  was,  however,  an  ex- 
cellent master  of  design,  and  had  collected  round  him  a  troop 
of  workpeople  formed  in  the  school  of  Rosso,  our  Florentine 
painter,  who  was  undoubtedly  an  artist  of  extraordinary 
merit;  his  own  best  qualities  indeed  were  derived  from  the 
admirable  manner  of  Rosso,  who  by  this  time  had  died. 

These  ingenious  arguments,  and  the  weighty  influence  of 
Madame  d'Etampes,  prevailed  with  the  King;  for  they  kept 
hammering  at  him  night  and  day,  Madame  at  one  time,  and 
Bologna  at  another.  What  w'orked  most  upon  his  mind  w^as 
that  both  of  them  combined  to  speak  as  follows :  "  How  is  it 
possible,  sacred  Majesty,  that  Benvenuto  should  accomplish 
the  twelve  silver  statues  which  you  want?  He  has  not  finished 
one  of  them  yet.  If  you  employ  him  on  so  great  an  under- 
taking, you  will,  of  necessity,  deprive  yourself  of  those  other 
things  on  which  your  heart  is  set.  A  hundred  of  the  ablest 
craftsmen  could  not  complete  so  many  great  works  as  this 
one  able  man  has  taken  in  hand  to  do.  One  can  see  clearly 
that  he  has  a  passion  for  labour;  but  this  ardent  temper  will 
be  the  cause  of  your  Majesty's  losing  both  him  and  his  master- 

'  Primaticcio,  together  with   Rosso,  introduced   Italian   painting  into 
France.     Vasari  says  he  came  to  Paris  in  1541.     He  died  in  1570. 


288  CELLINI 

pieces  at  the  same  moment."  By  insinuating  these  and  other 
suggestions  of  the  same  sort  at  a  favourable  opportunity,  the 
King  consented  to  their  petition;  and  yet  Bologna  had  at  this 
time  produced  neither  designs  nor  models  for  the  fountain. 

XXVII 

It  happened  that  just  at  this  period  an  action  was  brought 
against  me  in  Paris  by  the  second  lodger  I  had  ousted  from 
my  castle,  who  pretended  that  on  that  occasion  I  had  stolen 
a  large  quantity  of  his  effects.  This  lawsuit  tormented  me 
beyond  measure,  and  took  up  so  much  of  my  time  that  I 
often  thought  of  decamping  in  despair  from  the  country. 
Now  the  French  are  in  the  habit  of  making  much  capital 
out  of  any  action  they  commence  against  a  foreigner,  or 
against  such  persons  as  they  notice  to  be  indolent  in  litiga- 
tion. No  sooner  do  they  observe  that  they  are  getting  some 
advantage  in  the  suit,  than  they  find  the  means  to  sell  it; 
some  have  even  been  known  to  give  a  lawsuit  in  dowry  with 
their  daughters  to  men  who  make  a  business  out  of  such  trans- 
actions. They  have  another  ugly  custom,  which  is  that  the 
Normans,  nearly  all  of  them,  traffic  in  false  evidence;  so  that 
the  men  who  buy  up  lawsuits,  engage  at  once  the  services 
of  four  or  six  of  these  false  witnesses,  according  to  their  need; 
their  adversary,  if  he  neglect  to  produce  as  many  on  the  other 
side,  being  perhaps  unacquainted  with  the  custom,  is  certain 
to  have  the  verdict  given  against  him. 

All  this  happened  in  my  case,  and  thinking  it  a  most  dis- 
graceful breach  of  justice,  I  made  my  appearance  in  the  great 
hall  of  Paris,  to  defend  my  right.  There  I  saw  a  judge,  lieu- 
tenant for  the  King  in  civil  causes,  enthroned  upon  a  high 
tribunal.  He  was  tall,  stout,  and  fat,  and  of  an  extremely  se- 
vere countenance.  All  round  him  on  each  side  stood  a  crowd 
of  solicitors  and  advocates,  ranged  upon  the  right  hand  and 
the  left.  Others  were  coming,  one  by  one,  to  explain  their 
several  causes  to  the  judge.  From  time  to  time,  too,  I  noticed 
that  the  attorneys  at  the  side  of  the  tribunal  talked  all  at  once: 
and  much  admiration  was  roused  in  me  by  that  extraordinary 
man,  the  very  image  of  Pluto,  who  listened  with  marked  at- 
tention first  to  one  and  then  to  the  other,  answering  each  with 
learning  and  sagacity.  I  have  always  delighted  in  watching 
and  experiencing  every  kind  of  skill ;  so  I  would  not  have  lost 


MEMOIRS  289 

this  spectacle  for  much.  It  happened  that  the  hall  being  very 
large,  and  filled  with  a  multitude  of  folk,  they  were  strict  in 
excluding  every  one  who  had  no  business  there,  and  kept 
the  door  shut  with  a  guard  to  hold  it.  Sometimes  the  guard- 
ian, in  his  eflFort  to  prevent  the  entrance  of  some  improper 
person,  interrupted  the  judge  by  the  great  noise  he  made, 
and  the  judge  in  anger  turned  to  chide  him.  This  happened 
frequently,  so  that  my  attention  was  directed  to  the  fact.  On 
one  occasion,  when  two  gentlemen  were  pushing  their  way 
in  as  spectators,  and  the  porter  was  opposing  them  with  vio- 
lence, the  judge  raised  his  voice,  and  spoke  the  following 
words  precisely  as  I  heard  them:  "  Keep  peace,  Satan,  be- 
gone, and  hold  your  tongue."  These  words  in  the  French 
tongue  sound  as  follows:  Phe  phe,  Satan,  phe  phe,  ale,  phe! 
Now  I  had  learned  the  French  tongue  well;  and  on  hearing 
this  sentence,  the  meaning  of  that  phrase  used  by  Dante  came 
into  my  memory,  when  he  and  his  master  Virgil  entered  the 
doors  of  Hell.  Dante  and  the  painter  Giotto  were  together 
in  France,  and  particularly  in  the  city  of  Paris,  where,  owing 
to  the  circumstances  I  have  just  described,  the  hall  of  jus- 
tice may  be  truly  called  a  hell.  Dante  then,  who  also  under- 
stood French  w'ell,  made  use  of  the  phrase  in  question,  and 
it  has  struck  me  as  singular  that  this  interpretation  has  never 
yet  been  put  upon  the  passage;  indeed,  it  confirms  my  opin- 
ion that  the  commentators  make  him  say  things  which  never 

came  into  his  head. 

XXVIII 

Well,  then,  to  return  to  my  afifairs.  When  certain  de- 
cisions of  the  court  were  sent  me  by  those  lawyers,  and  I 
perceived  that  my  cause  had  been  unjustly  lost,  I  had  recourse 
for  my  defence  to  a  great  dagger  which  I  carried;  for  I  have 
always  taken  pleasure  in  keeping  fine  weapons.  The  first 
man  I  attacked  was  the  plaintifif  who  had  sued  me;  and  one 
evening  I  wounded  him  in  the  legs  and  arms  so  severely,  tak- 
ing care,  however,  not  to  kill  him,  that  I  deprived  him  of 
the  use  of  both  his  legs.  Then  I  sought  out  the  other  fellow 
who  had  bought  the  suit,  and  used  him  also  in  such  wise  that 
he  dropped  it. 

Returning  thanks  to  God  for  this  and  every  other  dispen- 
sation, and  hoping  to  be  left  awhile  without  worries.  I  bade 
the  young  men  of  my  household,  especially  the  Italians,  for 
19 


290 


CELLINI 


God's  sake  to  attend  each  diligently  to  the  work  I  set  him, 
and  to  help  me  till  such  time  as  I  could  finish  the  things  I 
had  in  hand.  I  thought  they  might  soon  be  completed,  and 
then  I  meant  to  return  to  Italy,  being  no  longer  able  to  put 
up  with  the  rogueries  of  those  Frenchmen;  the  good  King 
too,  if  he  once  grew  angry,  might  bring  me  into  mischief 
for  many  of  my  acts  in  self-defence.  I  will  describe  who 
these  Italians  were;  the  first,  and  the  one  I  liked  best,  was 
Ascanio,  from  Tagliacozzo  in  the  kingdom  of  Naples;  the 
second  was  Pagolo,  a  Roman  of  such  humble  origin  that  he 
did  not  know  his  own  father.  These  were  the  two  men  who 
had  been  with  me  in  Rome,  and  whom  I  had  taken  with  me 
on  the  journey.  Another  Roman  had  also  come  on  purpose 
to  enter  my  service;  he  too  bore  the  name  of  Pagolo,  and 
was  the  son  of  a  poor  nobleman  of  the  family  of  the  Maca- 
roni; he  had  small  acquirements  in  our  art,  but  was  an  ex- 
cellent and  courageous  swordsman.  I  had  another  from  Fer- 
rara  called  Bartolommeo  Chioccia.  There  was  also  another 
from  Florence  named  Pagolo  Micceri;  his  brother,  nick- 
named "  II  Gatta,"  was  a  clever  clerk,  but  had  spent  too  much 
money  in  managing  the  property  of  Tommaso  Guadagni,  a 
very  wealthy  merchant.  This  Gatta  put  in  order  for  me  the 
books  in  which  I  wrote  the  accounts  of  his  most  Christian 
Majesty  and  my  other  employers.  Now  Pagolo  Micceri,  hav- 
ing learned  how  to  keep  them  from  his  brother,  went  on  doing 
this  work  for  me  in  return  for  a  liberal  salary.  He  appeared, 
so  far  as  I  could  judge,  to  be  a  very  honest  lad,  for  I  noticed 
him  to  be  devout,  and  when  I  heard  him  sometimes  mut- 
tering psalms,  and  sometimes  telling  his  beads,  I  reckoned 
much  upon  his  feigned  virtue. 

Accordingly  I  called  the  fellow  apart  and  said  to  him, 
"  Pagolo,  my  dearest  brother,  you  know  what  a  good  place 
you  have  with  me,  and  how  you  had  formerly  nothing  to 
depend  on;  besides,  you  are  a  Florentine.  I  have  also  the 
greater  confidence  in  you  because  I  observe  that  you  are 
pious  and  religious,  which  is  a  thing  that  pleases  me.  I 
beg  you  therefore  to  assist  me,  for  I  can  not  put  the  same 
trust  in  any  of  your  companions:  so  then  I  shall  ask  you  to 
keep  watch  over  two  matters  of  the  highest  importance,  which 
might  prove  a  source  of  much  annoyance  to  me.  In  the  first 
place,  I  want  you  to  guard  my  property  from  being  stolen. 


MEMOIRS 


291 


and  not  touch  it  yourself.  In  the  next  place,  you  know  that 
poor  young  girl,  Caterina;  I  keep  her  for  my  art's  sake,  since 
I  can  not  do  without  a  model;  now  I  do  not  want  her  cor- 
rupted. If  any  one  in  this  house  had  the  audacity  to  attempt 
anything  of  the  sort,  and  I  were  to  become  aware  of  it,  I  verily 
believe  that  I  should  kill  both  her  and  him.  Accordingly, 
dear  brother,  I  entreat  you  to  be  my  helper;  should  you  no- 
tice anything,  tell  it  me  at  once;  for  I  am  sure  to  send  her 
and  her  mother  to  the  gallows.  Be  you  the  first  upon  your 
watch  against  falling  into  this  snare."  The  rascal  made  a 
sign  of  the  cross  from  his  head  to  his  feet  and  cried  out:  "  O 
blessed  Jesus!  God  preserve  me  from  ever  thinking  of  such 
a  thing!  In  the  first  place,  I  am  not  given  to  those  evil  ways; 
in  the  next  place,  do  you  imagitie  I  am  ignorant  of  your  great 
benefits  toward  me?"  When  I  heard  these  words,  which  he 
uttered  with  all  appearance  of  simplicity  and  affection  for  me, 
I  believed  that  matters  stood  precisely  as  he  asserted. 

XXIX 

Two  days  after  this  conversation,  M.  Mattio  del  Nazaro 
took  the  occasion  of  some  feast-day  to  invite  me  and  my 
workpeople  to  an  entertainment  in  a  garden.^  He  was  an 
Italian  in  the  King's  service,  and  practised  the  same  art  as 
we  did  with  remarkable  ability.  I  got  myself  in  readiness, 
and  told  Pagolo  that  he  might  go  abroad  too  and  amuse 
himself  with  us;  the  annoyances  arising  from  that  lawsuit 
being,  as  I  judged,  now  settled  down.  The  young  man  re- 
plied in  these  words:  "Upon  my  word,  it  would  be  a  great 
mistake  to  leave  the  house  so  unprotected.  Only  look  how 
much  of  gold,  silver,  and  jewels  you  have  here.  Living  as 
we  do  in  a  city  of  thieves,  we  ought  to  be  upon  our  guard 
by  day  and  night.  I  will  spend  the  time  in  religious  exer- 
cises, while  I  keep  watch  over  the  premises.  Go  then  with 
mind  at  rest  to  take  your  pleasure  and  divert  your  spirits. 
Some  other  day  another  man  will  take  my  place  as  guardian 
here." 

Thinking  that  I  could  go  oflf  with  a  quiet  mind,  I  took 
Pagolo,  Ascanio,  and  Chioccia  to  the  garden,  where  we  spent 
a  large  portion  of  the  day  agreeably.     Toward  the  middle 

'  Matteo  del  Nassaro,  a  native  of  Verona,  was  employed  in  France  as 
engraver,  die-caster,  and  musician. 


292  CELLINI 

of  the  afternoon,  however,  when  it  began  to  draw  toward 
sundown,  a  suspicion  came  into  my  head,  and  I  recollected 
the  words  which  that  traitor  had  spoken  with  his  feigned 
simplicity.  So  I  mounted  my  horse,  and  with  two  servants 
to  attend  me,  returned  to  the  castle,  where  I  all  but  caught 
Pagolo  and  that  little  wretch  Caterina  in  flagrante.  No  sooner 
had  I  reached  the  place,  than  her  mother  screamed  out:  "  Pa- 
golo! Caterina!  here  is  the  master!  "  When  I  saw  the  pair 
advancing,  overcome  with  fright,  not  knowing  what  they  said, 
nor,  like  people  in  a  trance,  where  they  were  going,  the 
sight  drowned  reason  in  rage,  and  I  drew  my  sword,  resolved 
to  kill  them  both.  The  man  took  to  his  heels;  the  girl  flung 
herself  upon  her  knees,  and  shrieked  to  Heaven  for  mercy. 
In  my  first  fury  I  wanted  to  strike  at  him;  but  before  I  had 
the  time  to  catch  him  up,  second  thoughts  arose  which  made 
me  think  it  would  be  best  for  me  to  drive  them  both  away 
together.  I  had  so  many  acts  of  violence  upon  my  hands, 
that  if  I  killed  him  I  could  hardly  hope  to  save  my  life.  I 
said  then  to  Pagolo:  "  Had  I  seen  with  my  own  eyes,  scoun- 
drel, what  your  behaviour  and  appearance  force  me  to  be- 
lieve, I  should  have  run  you  with  this  sword  here  ten  times 
through  the  guts.  Get  out  of  my  sight;  and  if  you  say  a 
Paternoster,  let  it  be  San  Giuliano's."  Then  I  drove  the  whole 
lot  forth,  mother  and  daughter,  lamming  into  them  with  fist 
and  foot.  They  made  their  minds  up  to  have  the  law  of  me, 
and  consulted  a  Norman  advocate.  The  man  argued:  "At 
the  very  least,  when  this  Italian  hears  what  you  are  after, 
he  will  pay  down  several  hundred  ducats,  knowing  how  great 
the  danger  is,  and  how  heavily  that  offence  is  punished  in 
France."  Upon  this  they  were  agreed.  The  accusation  was 
brought  against  me,  and  I  received  a  summons  from  the  court. 

XXX 

The  more  I  sought  for  rest,  the  more  I  was  annoyed  with 
all  sorts  of  embarrassments.  Being  thus  daily  exposed  to 
divers  persecutions,  I  pondered  which  of  two  courses  I  oup'ht 
to  take;  whether  to  decamp  and  leave  France  to  the  devil, 
or  else  to  fight  this  battle  through  as  I  had  done  the  rest,  and 
see  to  what  end  God  had  made  me.  For  a  long  while  I  kept 
anxiously  revolving  the  matter.  At  last  I  resolved  to  make 
off,  dreading  to  tempt  my  evil  fortune,  lest  this  should  bring 


MEMOIRS 


293 


me  to  the  gallows.  My  dispositions  were  all  fixed;  I  had 
made  arrangements  for  putting  away  the  property  I  could 
not  carry,  and  for  charging  the  lighter  articles,  to  the  best 
of  my  ability,  upon  myself  and  servants;  yet  it  was  with  great 
and  heavy  reluctance  that  I  looked  forward  to  such  a  de- 
parture. 

I  had  shut  myself  up  alone  in  a  little  study.  My  young 
men  were  advising  me  to  fly;  but  I  told  them  that  it  would 
be  well  for  me  to  meditate  this  step  in  solitude,  although  I 
very  much  inclined  to  their  opinion.  Indeed,  I  reasoned  that 
if  I  could  escape  imprisonment  and  let  the  storm  pass  over, 
I  should  be  able  to  explain  matters  to  the  King  by  letter, 
setting  forth  the  trap  which  had  been  laid  to  ruin  me  by  the 
malice  of  my  enemies.  And  as  I  have  said  above,  my  mind 
was  made  up  to  this  point;  when,  just  as  I  rose  to  act  on  the 
decision,  some  power  took  me  by  the  shoulder  and  turned 
me  round,  and  I  heard  a  voice  which  cried  with  vehemence: 
"  Benvenuto,  do  as  thou  art  wont,  and  fear  not!  "  Then,  on 
the  instant,  I  changed  the  whole  course  of  my  plans,  and 
said  to  my  Italians:  "Take  your  good  arms  and  come  with 
me;  obey  me  to  the  letter;  have  no  other  thought,  for  I  am 
now  determined  to  put  in  my  appearance.  If  I  were  to  leave 
Paris,  you  would  vanish  the  next  day  in  smoke;  so  do  as  I 
command,  and  follow  me."  They  all  began  together  with  one 
heart  and  voice  to  say :  "  Since  we  are  here,  and  draw  our 
livelihood  from  him,  it  is  our  duty  to  go  wdth  him  and  bear 
him  out  so  long  as  we  have  life  to  execute  what  he  proposes. 
He  has  hit  the  mark  better  than  we  did  in  this  matter;  for 
on  the  instant  when  he  leaves  the  place,  his  enemies  will  send 
us  to  the  devil.  Let  us  keep  well  in  mind  w^hat  great  works 
we  have  begun  here,  and  what  vast  importance  they  possess; 
we  should  not  know  how  to  finish  them  w^ithout  him,  and 
his  enemies  would  say  that  he  had  taken  flight  because  he 
shrank  before  such  undertakings."  Many  other  things  bear- 
ing weightily  upon  the  subject  were  said  among  them.  But 
it  was  the  young  Roman,  Macaroni,  who  first  put  heart  into 
the  company;  and  he  also  raised  recruits  from  the  Germans 
and  the  Frenchmen,  who  felt  well  disposed  toward  me. 

We  were  ten  men,  all  counted.  I  set  out,  firmly  resolved 
not  to  let  myself  be  taken  and  imprisoned  alive.  When  we 
appeared    before    the   judges    for    criminal    affairs,    I    found 


294 


CELLINI 


Catcrina  and  her  mother  waiting;  and  on  the  moment  of  my 
arrival,  the  two  women  were  laughing  with  their  advocate. 
I  pushed  my  way  in,  and  called  boldly  for  the  judge,  who 
was  seated,  blown  out  big  and  fat,  upon  a  tribunal  high  above 
the  rest.  On  catching  sight  of  me,  he  threatened  with  his 
head,  and  spoke  in  a  subdued  voice:  "Although  your  name 
is  Benvenuto,  this  time  you  are  an  ill-comer."  I  understood 
his  speech,  and  called  out  the  second  time:  "  Despatch  my 
business  quickly.  Tell  me  what  I  have  come  to  do  here." 
Then  the  judge  turned  to  Caterina,  and  said:  "  Caterina,  re- 
late all  that  happened  between  you  and  Benvenuto."  She 
answered  that  I  had  attempted  to  kill  her.  The  judge  turned 
to  me  and  said :  "  You  hear  what  Caterina  deposes,  Benve- 
nuto." I  commanded  her  to  explain  precisely  how  I  had 
injured  her.  Then  the  impudent  baggage  entered  into  plain 
and  circumstantial  details  regarding  all  the  abuse  she  lyingly 
accused  me  of.  I  made  her  repeat  her  deposition  three  times 
in  succession.  When  she  had  finished,  I  cried  out  with  a 
loud  voice:  "Lord  judge,  lieutenant  of  the  Most  Christian 
King,  I  call  on  you  for  justice.  The  woman  is  guilty  of  per- 
jury; I  admit  nothing  whatsoever  with  regard  to  her;  her 
mother  is  here,  who  deserves  to  be  burned.  Therefore  I  ap- 
peal to  you  for  justice."  These  words  I  repeated  over  and 
over  again  at  the  top  of  my  voice,  continually  calling  out: 
"  To  the  stake  with  her  and  her  mother!  "  I  also  threatened 
the  judge  that,  if  he  did  not  send  her  to  prison  there  before 
me,  I  would  go  to  the  King  at  once,  and  tell  him  how  his 
lieutenant  in  criminal  affairs  of  justice  had  wronged  me. 
When  they  heard  what  a  tumult  I  was  making,  my  adversaries 
lowered  their  voices,  but  I  lifted  mine  the  more.  The  little 
hussy  and  her  mother  fell  to  weeping,  while  I  shouted  to  the 
judge:  "Fire,  fire!  to  the  stake  with  them!"  The  coward 
on  the  bench,  finding  that  the  matter  was  not  going  as  he 
intended,  began  to  use  soft  words  and  excuse  the  weakness 
of  the  female  sex.  Thereupon  I  felt  that  I  had  won  the  vic- 
tory; and,  muttering  threats  between  my  teeth,  I  took  myself 
off,  not  without  great  inward  satisfaction.  Indeed,  I  would 
gladly  have  paid  five  hundred  crowns  down  to  have  avoided 
that  appearance  in  court.  However,  after  escaping  from  the 
tempest,  I  thanked  God  with  all  my  heart,  and  returned  in 
gladness  with  my  young  men  to  the  castle. 


MEMOIRS 


XXXI 


295 


When  adverse  fortune,  or,  if  we  prefer  to  call  it,  our  malig- 
nant planet,  undertakes  to  persecute  a  man,  it  never  lacks 
new  ways  of  injuring  him.  So  now,  when  I  thought  I  had 
emerged  from  this  tempestuous  sea  of  troubles,  and  hoped 
my  evil  star  would  leave  me  quiet  for  a  moment,  it  began 
to  set  two  schemes  in  motion  against  me  before  I  had  re- 
covered my  breath  from  that  great  struggle.  Within  three 
days  two  things  happened,  each  of  which  brought  my  life 
into  extreme  hazard.  One  of  these  occurred  in  this  way:  I 
went  to  Fontainebleau  to  consult  with  the  King;  for  he  had 
written  me  a  letter  saying  he  wanted  me  to  stamp  the  coins 
of  his  whole  realm,  and  inclosing  some  little  drawings  to 
explain  his  wishes  in  the  matter;  at  the  same  time  he  left 
me  free  to  execute  them  as  I  liked;  upon  which  I  made  new 
designs  according  to  my  own  conception,  and  according  to 
the  ideal  of  art.  When  I  reached  Fontainebleau,  one  of  the 
treasurers  commissioned  by  the  King  to  defray  my  expenses 
(he  was  called  Monsignor  della  Fa)  addressed  me  in  these 
words:  "  Benvenuto,  the  painter  Bologna  has  obtained  com- 
mission from  the  King  to  execute  your  great  Colossus,  and 
all  the  orders  previously  given  as  on  your  behalf  have  been 
transferred  to  him.  We  are  all  indignant;  and  it  seems  to  us 
that  that  countryman  of  yours  has  acted  toward  you  in  a  most 
unwarrantable  manner.  The  work  was  assigned  you  on  the 
strength  of  your  models  and  studies.  He  is  robbing  you 
of  it,  only  through  the  favour  of  Madame  d'Etampes;  and 
though  several  months  have  passed  since  he  received  the 
order,  he  has  not  yet  made  any  sign  of  commencing  it."  I 
answered  in  surprise:  "  How  is  it  possible  that  I  should  have 
heard  nothing  at  all  about  this?  "  He  then  informed  me  that 
the  man  had  kept  it  very  dark,  and  had  obtained  the  King's 
commission  with  great  difficulty,  since  his  Majesty  at  first 
would  not  concede  it;  only  the  importunity  of  Madame 
d'Etampes  secured  this  favour  for  him. 

When  I  felt  how  greatly  and  how  wrongfully  I  had  been 
betrayed,  and  saw  a  work  which  I  had  gained  with  my  great 
toil  thus  stolen  from  me,  I  made  my  mind  up  for  a  serious 
stroke  of  business,  and  marched  oflf  with  my  good  sword  at 
my  side  to  find  Bologna.     He  was  in  his  room,  engaged  in 


296  CELLINI 

studies;  after  telling  the  servant  to  introduce  me,  he  greeted 
me  with  some  of  his  Lombard  compliments,  and  asked  what 
good  business  had  brought  me  hither.  I  replied:  "A  most 
excellent  business,  and  one  of  great  importance."  He  then 
sent  for  wine,  and  said:  "  Before  we  begin  to  talk,  we  must 
drink  together,  for  such  is  the  French  custom."  I  answered: 
"  Messer  Francesco,  you  must  know  that  the  conversation  we 
have  to  engage  in  does  not  call  for  drinking  at  the  commence- 
ment; after  it  is  over,  perhaps  we  shall  be  glad  to  take  a 
glass."  Then  I  opened  the  matter  in  this  way:  "All  men 
who  wish  to  pass  for  persons  of  worth  allow  it  to  be  seen 
that  they  are  so  by  their  actions;  if  they  do  the  contrary,  they 
lose  the  name  of  honest  men.  I  am  aware  that  you  knew 
the  King  had  commissioned  me  with  that  great  Colossus; 
it  had  been  talked  of  these  eighteen  months  past;  yet  neither 
you  nor  anybody  else  came  forward  to  speak  a  word  about  it. 
By  my  great  labours  I  made  myself  known  to  his  Majesty, 
who  approved  of  my  models  and  gave  the  work  into  my 
hands.  During  many  months  I  have  heard  nothing  to  the 
contrary;  only  this  morning  I  was  informed  that  you  have 
got  hold  of  it,  and  have  filched  it  from  me.  I  earned  it  by 
the  talents  I  displayed,  and  you  are  robbing  me  of  it  merely 

by  your  idle  talking." 

XXXII 

To  this  speech  Bologna  answered:  "  O  Benvenuto!  all 
men  try  to  push  their  affairs  in  every  way  they  can.  If  this 
is  the  King's  will,  what  have  you  to  say  against  it?  You 
would  only  throw  away  your  time,  because  I  have  it  now, 
and  it  is  mine.  Now  tell  me  what  you  choose,  and  I  will 
listen  to  you."  I  replied:  "  I  should  like  you  to  know,  Messer 
Francesco,  that  I  could  say  much  which  would  prove  irre- 
fragably,  and  make  you  admit,  that  such  ways  of  acting  as 
you  have  described  and  used  are  not  in  vogue  among  ra- 
tional animals.  I  will,  however,  come  quickly  to  the  point 
at  issue;  give  close  attention  to  my  meanmg,  because  the 
afifair  is  serious."  He  made  as  though  he  would  rise  from 
the  chair  on  which  he  was  sitting,  since  he  saw  my  colour 
heightened  and  my  features  greatly  discomposed.  I  told  him 
that  the  time  had  not  yet  come  for  moving;  he  had  better 
sit  and  listen  to  me.  Then  I  recommenced:  "Messer  Fran- 
cesco, you  know  that  I  first  received  the  work,  and  that  the 


MEMOIRS 


297 


time  has  long  gone  by  during  which  my  right  could  be  rea- 
sonably disputed  by  any  one.  Now  I  tell  you  that  I  shall 
be  satisfied  if  you  will  make  a  model,  while  I  make  another 
in  addition  to  the  one  I  have  already  shown.  Then  we  will 
take  them  without  any  clamour  to  our  great  King;  and  who- 
soever in  this  way  shall  have  gained  the  credit  of  the  best 
design  will  justly  have  deserved  the  commission.  If  it  falls 
to  you,  I  will  dismiss  from  my  mind  the  memory  of  the  great 
injury  you  have  done  me,  and  will  bless  your  hands,  as  being 
worthier  than  mine  of  so  glorious  a  performance.  Let  us 
abide  by  this  agreement,  and  we  shall  be  friends;  otherwise 
we  must  be  enemies;  and  God,  who  always  helps  the  right, 
and  I,  who  know  how  to  assert  it,  will  show  you  to  what 
extent  you  have  done  wrong."  Messer  Francesco  answered: 
"  The  work  is  mine,  and  since  it  has  been  given  me,  I  do  not 
choose  to  put  what  is  my  own  to  hazard."  To  this  I  retorted: 
"  Messer  Francesco,  if  you  will  not  take  the  right  course 
which  is  just  and  reasonable,  I  will  show  you  another  which 
shall  be  like  your  own,  that  is  to  say,  ugly  and  disagreeable. 
I  tell  you  plainly  that  if  I  ever  hear  that  you  have  spoken 
one  single  word  about  this  work  of  mine,  I  will  kill  you  like 
a  dog.  We  are  neither  in  Rome,  nor  in  Bologna,  nor  in 
Florence;  here  one  lives  in  quite  a  different  fashion;  if  then 
it  comes  to  my  ears  that  you  talk  about  this  to  the  King  or 
anybody  else,  I  vow  that  I  will  kill  you.  Reflect  upon  the 
way  you  mean  to  take,  whether  that  for  good  which  I  for- 
merly described,  or  this  latter  bad  one  I  have  just  now  set 
before  you." 

The  man  did  not  know  what  to  say  or  do,  and  I  was  in- 
clined to  cut  the  matter  short  upon  the  spot  rather  than  to 
postpone  action.  Bologna  found  no  other  words  than  these 
to  utter:  "  If  I  act  like  a  man  of  honesty,  I  shall  stand  in  no 
fear."  I  replied:  "  You  have  spoken  well,  but  if  you  act  other- 
wise, you  will  have  to  fear,  because  the  afifair  is  serious." 
Upon  this  I  left  him,  and  betook  myself  to  the  King.  With 
his  Majesty  I  disputed  some  time  about  the  fashion  of  his 
coinage,  a  point  upon  which  we  were  not  of  the  same  opinion ; 
his  council,  who  were  present,  kept  persuading  him  that  the 
monies  ought  to  be  struck  in  the  French  style,  as  they  had 
hitherto  always  been  done.  I  urged  in  reply  that  his  Majesty 
had  sent  for  me  from  Italy  in  order  that  I  might  execute 
20 


298 


CELLINI 


good  work;  if  he  now  wanted  me  to  do  the  contrary,  I  could 
not  bring  myself  to  submit.  So  the  matter  was  postponed  till 
another  occasion,  and  I  set  off  again  at  once  for  Paris. 

XXXIII 

I  had  but  just  dismounted  from  my  horse,  when  one  of 
those  excellent  people  who  rejoice  in  mischief-making  came 
to  tell  me  that  Pagolo  Micceri  had  taken  a  house  for  the  little 
hussy  Caterina  and  her  mother,  and  that  he  was  always  going 
there,  and  whenever  he  mentioned  me,  used  words  of  scorn 
to  this  effect:  "  Benvenuto  set  the  fox  to  watch  the  grapes, 
and  thought  I  would  not  eat  them!  Now  he  is  satisfied  with 
going  about  and  talking  big,  and  thinks  I  am  afraid  of  him. 
But  I  have  girt  this  sword  and  dagger  to  my  side  in  order 
to  show  him  that  my  steel  can  cut  as  well  as  his,  and  that  I 
too  am  a  Florentine,  of  the  Micceri,  a  far  better  family  than 
his  Cellini."  The  scoundrel  who  reported  this  poisonous 
gossip  spoke  it  with  such  good  effect  that  I  felt  a  fever  in  the 
instant  swoop  upon  me;  and  when  I  say  fever,  I  mean  fever, 
and  no  mere  metaphor.  The  insane  passion  which  took  pos- 
session of  me  might  have  been  my  death,  had  I  not  resolved 
to  give  it  vent  as  the  occasion  offered.  I  ordered  the  Fer- 
rarese  workman,  Chioccia,  to  come  with  me,  and  made  a  serv- 
ant follow  with  my  horse.  When  we  reached  the  house  where 
that  worthless  villain  was,  I  found  the  door  ajar,  and  entered. 
I  noticed  that  he  carried  sword  and  dagger,  and  was  sitting 
on  a  big  chest  with  his  arm  round  Caterina's  neck;  at  the 
moment  of  my  arrival,  I  could  hear  that  he  and  her  mother 
were  talking  about  me.  Pushing  the  door  open,  I  drew  my 
sword,  and  set  the  point  of  it  at  his  throat,  not  giving  him 
the  time  to  think  whether  he  too  carried  steel.  At  the  same 
instant  I  cried  out:  "Vile  coward!  recommend  your  soul  to 
God,  for  you  are  a  dead  man."  Without  budging  from  his 
seat,  he  called  three  times:  "Mother,  mother,  help  me!" 
Though  I  had  come  there  fully  determined  to  take  his  life, 
half  my  fury  ebbed  away  when  I  heard  this  idiotic  exclama- 
tion. I  ought  to  add  that  I  had  told  Chioccia  not  to  let  the 
girl  or  her  mother  leave  the  house,  since  I  meant  to  deal  with 
them  after  I  had  disposed  of  their  bully.  So  I  went  on  hold- 
ing my  sword  at  his  throat,  and  now  and  then  just  pricked 
him  with  the  point,  pouring  out  a  torrent  of  terrific  threats 


MEMOIRS  299 

at  the  same  time.  But  when  I  found  he  did  not  stir  a  finger 
in  his  own  defence,  I  began  to  wonder  what  I  should  do  next; 
my  menacing  attitude  could  not  be  kept  up  for  ever;  so  at 
last  it  came  into  my  head  to  make  them  marry,  and  complete 
my  vengeance  at  a  later  period.  Accordingly,  I  formed  my 
resolution,  and  began:  "Take  that  ring,  coward,  from  your 
finger,  and  marry  her,  that  I  may  get  satisfaction  from  you 
afterward  according  to  your  deserts."  He  replied  at  once: 
"  If  only  you  do  not  kill  me,  I  will  do  whatever  you  com- 
mand." "  Then,"  said  I,  "  put  that  ring  upon  her  hand." 
When  the  sword's  point  was  withdrawn  a  few  inches  from 
his  throat,  he  wedded  her  with  the  ring.  But  I  added:  "  This 
is  not  enough.  I  shall  send  for  two  notaries,  in  order  that 
the  marriage  may  be  ratified  by  contract."  Bidding  Chioccia 
go  for  the  lawyers,  I  turned  to  the  girl  and  her  mother,  and, 
using  the  French  language,  spoke  as  follows:  "  Notaries  and 
witnesses  are  coming;  the  first  of  you  who  blabs  about  this 
aflfair  will  be  killed  upon  the  spot;  nay,  I  will  murder  you  all 
three.  So  beware,  and  keep  a  quiet  tongue  in  your  heads." 
To  him  I  said  in  Italian:  "  If  you  ofTer  any  resistance  to  what 
I  shall  propose,  upon  the  slightest  word  you  utter  I  will  stab 
you  till  your  guts  run  out  upon  this  floor."  He  answered: 
"  Only  promise  not  to  kill  me,  and  I  will  do  whatever  you 
command."  The  notaries  and  witnesses  arrived;  a  contract, 
valid  and  in  due  form,  was  drawn  up;  then  my  heat  and  fever 
left  me.    I  paid  the  lawyers  and  took  my  departure. 

On  the  following  day  Bologna  came  to  Paris  on  purpose, 
and  sent  for  me  through  Mattio  del  Nasaro.  I  went  to  see 
him;  and  he  met  me  with  a  glad  face,  entreating  me  to  regard 
him  as  a  brother,  and  saying  that  he  would  never  speak  about 
that  work  again,  since  he  recognised  quite  well  that  I  was 

right. 

**  XXXIV 

If  I  did  not  confess  that  in  some  of  these  episodes  I  acted 
wrongly,  the  world  might  think  I  was  not  telling  the  truth 
about  those  in  which  I  say  I  acted  rightly.  Therefore  I  admit 
that  it  was  a  mistake  to  inflict  so  singular  a  vengeance  upon 
Pagolo  Micceri.  In  truth,  had  I  believed  him  to  be  so  utterly 
feeble,  I  should  not  have  conceived  the  notion  of  branding 
him  with  such  infamy  as  I  am  going  to  relate. 

Not  satisfied  with  having  made  him  take  the  woman  to 


30O  CELLINI 

wife,  I  completed  my  revenge  by  inviting  her  to  sit  to  me  as 
a  model,  and  dealing  with  her  thus.  I  gave  her  thirty  sous 
a  day,  paid  in  advance,  and  a  good  meal,  and  obliged  her  to 
pose  before  me.  Furthermore,  I  kept  her  for  hours  together 
in  position,  greatly  to  her  discomfort.  This  gave  her  as  much 
annoyance  as  it  gave  me  pleasure;  for  she  was  beautifully 
made,  and  brought  me  much  credit  as  a  model.  At  last, 
noticing  that  I  did  not  treat  her  with  the  same  consideration 
as  before  her  marriage,  she  began  to  grumble  and  talk  big 
in  her  French  way  about  her  husband,  who  was  now  serving 
the  Prior  of  Capua,  a  brother  of  Piero  Strozzi.^  On  the 
first  occasion  when  she  did  this,  the  mere  mention  of  the 
fellow  roused  me  to  intolerable  fury;  still  I  bore  it,  greatly 
against  the  grain,  as  well  as  I  was  able,  reflecting  that  I  could 
hardly  find  so  suitable  a  subject  for  my  art  as  she  was.  So 
I  reasoned  thus  in  my  own  mind :  "  I  am  now  taking  two 
different  kinds  of  revenge.  If  then  I  wreak  my  spite  so  fully 
upon  him,  while  upon  her  I  inflict  the  discomfort  of  posing 
in  such  strange  attitudes  for  such  a  length  of  time — which, 
beside  the  pleasure  I  derive,  brings  me  both  profit  and  credit 
through  my  art — what  more  can  I  desire?  "  While  I  was 
turning  over  these  calculations,  the  wretch  redoubled  her  in- 
sulting speeches,  always  prating  big  about  her  husband,  till 
she  goaded  me  beyond  the  bounds  of  reason.  Yielding  myself 
up  to  blind  rage,  I  seized  her  by  the  hair,  and  dragged  her 
up  and  down  my  room,  beating  and  kicking  her  till  I  was 
tired.  There  was  no  one  who  could  come  to  her  assistance. 
When  I  had  well  pounded  her  she  swore  that  she  would  never 
visit  me  again.  Then  for  the  first  time  I  perceived  that  I  had 
acted  very  wrongly;  for  I  was  losing  a  grand  model,  who 
brought  me  honour  through  my  art.  Moreover,  when  I  sav/ 
her  body  all  torn  and  bruised  and  swollen,  I  reflected  that, 
even  if  I  persuaded  her  to  return,  I  should  have  to  put  her 
under  medical  treatment  for  at  least  a  fortnight  before  I  could 

make  use  of  her. 

XXXV 

Well,  to  return  to  Caterina.  I  sent  my  old  serving-woman, 
named  Ruberta,  who  had  a  most  kindly  disposition,  to  help 
her  dress.    She  brought  food  and  drink  to  the  miserable  bag- 

'  Leone,   son  of  Filippo  Strozzi,   Knight  of  Jerusalem   and   Prior  of 
Capua,  was,  like  his  brother  Piero,  a  distinguished  French  general. 


MEMOIRS  301 

gage;  and  after  rubbing  a  little  bacon  fat  into  her  worst 
wounds,  they  ate  what  was  left  of  the  meat  together.  When 
she  had  finished  dressing,  she  went  off  blaspheming  and 
cursing  all  Italians  in  the  King's  service,  and  so  returned  with 
tears  and  murmurs  to  her  home. 

Assuredly,  upon  that  first  occasion,  I  felt  I  had  done  very 
wrong,  and  Ruberta  rebuked  me  after  this  fashion:  "  You  are 
a  cruel  monster  to  maltreat  such  a  handsome  girl  so  brutally." 
When  I  excused  my  conduct  by  narrating  all  the  tricks  which 
she  and  her  mother  had  played  off  upon  me  under  my  own 
roof,  Ruberta  scoldingly  replied  that  that  was  nothing — that 
was  only  French  manners.  When  I  heard  this  argument,  I 
laughed  aloud,  and  then  told  Ruberta  to  go  and  see  how 
Caterina  was,  since  I  should  like  to  employ  her  again  while 
finishing  the  work  I  had  on  hand.  The  old  woman  took  me 
sharply  up,  saying  that  I  had  no  savoir  vivre:  "  Only  wait 
till  daybreak,  and  she  will  come  of  herself;  whereas,  if  you 
send  to  ask  after  her  or  visit  her,  she  will  give  herself  airs 
and  keep  away." 

On  the  following  morning  Caterina  came  to  our  door,  and 
knocked  so  violently,  that,  being  below,  I  ran  to  see  whether 
it  was  a  madman  or  some  member  of  the  household.  When 
I  opened,  the  creature  laughed  and  fell  upon  my  neck,  em- 
bracing and  kissing  me,  and  asked  me  if  I  was  still  angry 
with  her.  I  said,  "No!"  Then  she  added:  "Let  me  have 
something  good  to  break  my  fast  on."  So  I  supplied  her  well 
with  food,  and  partook  of  it  at  the  same  table  in  sign  of 
reconciliation.  Afterward  I  began  to  model  from  her;  and 
at  last,  just  at  the  same  hour  as  on  the  previous  day,  she  irri- 
tated me  to  such  a  pitch  that  I  gave  her  the  same  drubbing. 
So  we  went  on  several  days,  repeating  the  old  round  like 
clockwork.    There  was  little  or  no  variation  in  the  incidents. 

Meanwhile,  I  completed  my  work  in  a  style  which  did  me 
the  greatest  credit.  Next  I  set  about  to  cast  it  in  bronze. 
This  entailed  some  difficulties,  to  relate  which  would  be  inter- 
esting from  the  point  of  view  of  art;  but  since  the  whole  his- 
tory would  occupy  too  much  space,  I  must  omit  it.  Suffice 
it  to  say,  that  the  figure  came  out  splendidly,  and  was  as  fine 
a  specimen  of  foundry  as  had  ever  been  seen.^ 

*  This  figure  was  undoubtedly  the  Nymph  of  Fontainebleau. 


302  CELLINI 


XXXVI 

While  this  work  was  going  forward,  I  set  aside  certain 
hours  of  the  day  for  the  salt-cellar,  and  certain  others  for  the 
Jupiter.  There  were  more  men  engaged  upon  the  former 
than  I  had  at  my  disposal  for  the  latter,  so  the  salt-cellar 
was  by  this  time  completely  finished.  The  King  had  now 
returned  to  Paris;  and  when  I  paid  him  my  respects,  I  took 
the  piece  with  me.  As  I  have  already  related,  it  was  oval  in 
form,  standing  about  two-thirds  of  a  cubit,  wrought  of  solid 
gold,  and  worked  entirely  with  the  chisel.  While  speaking 
of  the  model,  I  said  before  how  I  had  represented  Sea  and 
Earth,  seated,  with  their  legs  interlaced,  as  we  observe  in 
the  case  of  firths  and  promontories;  this  attitude  was  there- 
fore metaphorically  appropriate.  The  Sea  carried  a  trident 
in  his  right  hand,  and  in  his  left  I  put  a  ship  of  delicate  work- 
manship to  hold  the  salt.  Below  him  were  his  four  sea-horses, 
fashioned  like  our  horses  from  the  head  to  the  front  hoofs; 
all  the  rest  of  their  body,  from  the  middle  backward,  resem- 
bled a  fish,  and  the  tails  of  these  creatures  were  agreeably 
interwoven.  Above  this  group  the  Sea  sat  throned  in  an 
attitude  of  pride  and  dignity;  around  him  were  many  kinds 
of  fishes  aijd  other  creatures  of  the  ocean.  The  water  was 
represented  with  its  waves,  and  enamelled  in  the  appropriate 
colour.  I  had  portrayed  Earth  under  the  form  of  a  very  hand- 
some woman,  holding  her  horn  of  plenty,  entirely  nude  like 
the  male  figure;  in  her  left  hand  I  placed  a  little  temple  of 
Ionic  architecture,  most  delicately  wrought,  which  was  meant 
to  contain  the  pepper.  Beneath  her  were  the  handsomest 
living  creatures  which  the  earth  produces ;  and  the  rocks  were 
partly  enamelled,  partly  left  in  gold.  The  whole  piece  re- 
posed upon  a  base  of  ebony,  properly  proportioned,  but  with 
a  projecting  cornice,  upon  which  I  introduced  four  golden 
figures  in  rather  more  than  half-relief.  They  represented 
Night,  Day,  Twilight,  and  Dawn.  I  put,  moreover,  into  the 
same  frieze  four  other  figures,  similar  in  size,  and  intended 
for  the  four  chief  winds;  these  were  executed,  and  in  part 
enamelled,  with  the  most  exquisite  refinement. 

When  I  exhibited  this  piece  to  his  Majesty,  he  uttered  a 
loud  outcry  of  astonishment,  and  could  not  satiate  his  eyes 
with  gazing  at  it.    Then  he  bade  me  take  it  back  to  my  house, 


C 


u 
H 

< 

1/3 


I 


MEMOIRS  303 

saying  he  would  tell  me  at  the  proper  time  what  I  should 
have  to  do  with  it.  So  I  carried  it  home,  and  sent  at  once 
to  invite  several  of  my  best  friends;  we  dined  gaily  together, 
placing  the  salt-cellar  in  the  middle  of  the  table,  and  thus  we 
were  the  first  to  use  it.  After  this,  I  went  on  working  at  my 
Jupiter  in  silver,  and  also  at  the  great  vase  I  have  already 
described,  which  was  richly  decorated  with  a  variety  of  orna- 
ments and  figures. 

XXXVII 

At  that  time  Bologna,  the  painter,  suggested  to  the  King 
that  it  would  be  well  if  his  Majesty  sent  him  to  Rome,  with 
letters  of  recommendation,  to  the  end  that  he  might  cast  the 
foremost  masterpieces  of  antiquity,  namely,  the  Laocoon, 
the  Cleopatra,  the  Venus,  the  Commodus,  the  Zingara,  and 
the  Apollo.^  These,  of  a  truth,  are  by  far  the  finest  things 
in  Rome.  He  told  the  King  that  when  his  Majesty  had  once 
set  eyes  upon  those  marvellous  works,  he  would  then,  and 
not  till  then,  be  able  to  criticise  the  arts  of  design,  since  every- 
thing which  he  had  seen  by  us  moderns  was  far  removed  from 
the  perfection  of  the  ancients.  The  King  accepted  his  pro- 
posal, and  gave  him  the  introductions  he  required.  Accord- 
ingly that  beast  went  off,  and  took  his  bad  luck  with  him.  Not 
having  the  force  and  courage  to  contend  with  his  own  hands 
against  me,  he  adopted  the  truly  Lombard  device  of  depre- 
ciating my  performances  by  becoming  a  copyist  of  antiques. 
In  its  own  proper  place  I  shall  relate  how,  though  he  had 
these  statues  excellently  cast,  he  obtained  a  result  quite  con- 
trary to  his  imagination. 

I  had  now  done  for  ever  with  that  disreputable  Caterina, 
and  the  unfortunate  young  man,  her  husband,  had  decamped 
from  Paris.  Wanting  then  to  finish  off  my  Fontainebleau, 
which  was  already  cast  in  bronze,  as  w^ell  as  to  execute  the 
two  Victories  which  were  going  to  fill  the  angles  above  the 
lunette  of  the  door,  I  engaged  a  poor  girl  of  the  age  of  about 

'  The  Cleopatra  is  that  recumbent  statue  of  a  sleeping  Ariadne  or 
Bacchante  now  in  the  Vatican.  The  Venus  (neither  the  Medicean  nor 
the  Capitoline)  represents  the  goddess  issuing  from  the  bath  ;  it  is  now 
in  the  Museo  Pio  Clementino  of  the  Vatican.  The  Commodus  is  a  statue 
of  Hercules,  with  the  lion's  skin  and  an  infant  in  his  arms,  also  in  the 
Vatican.  The  Zingara  may  be  a  statue  of  Diana  forming  part  of  the 
Borghese  collection.  The  Apollo  is  the  famous  Belvedere  Apollo  of 
the  Vatican. 


304  CELLINI 

fifteen.  She  was  beautifully  made  and  of  a  brunette  complex- 
ion. As  she  was  somewhat  savage  in  her  ways  and  spare 
of  speech,  quick  in  movement,  with  a  look  of  sullenness  about 
her  eyes,  I  nicknamed  her  Scorzone;^  her  real  name  was 
Jeanne.  With  her  for  model,  I  gave  perfect  finish  to  the 
bronze  Fontainebleau,  and  also  to  the  two  Victories. 

XXXVIII 

By  labouring  incessantly  I  had  now  got  my  various  works 
well  forward;  the  Jupiter  was  nearly  finished,  and  the  vase 
also;  the  door  began  to  reveal  its  beauties.  At  that  time  the 
King  came  to  Paris.  Well,  the  King,  as  I  have  said,  came  to 
Paris,  and  paid  me  a  visit  soon  after  his  arrival.  The  mag- 
nificent show  of  works  brought  well-nigh  to  completion  was 
enough  to  satisfy  anybody's  eyes;  and  indeed  it  gave  that 
glorious  monarch  no  less  contentment  than  the  artist  who 
had  worked  so  hard  upon  them  desired.  While  inspecting 
these  things,  it  came  into  his  head  that  the  Cardinal  of  Fer- 
rara  had  fulfilled  none  of  his  promises  to  me,  either  as  re- 
garded a  pension  or  anything  else.  Whispering  with  his 
Admiral,  he  said  that  the  Cardinal  of  Ferrara  had  behaved 
very  badly  in  the  matter;  and  that  he  intended  to  make  it  up 
to  me  himself,  because  he  saw  I  was  a  man  of  few  words, 
who  in  the  twinkling  of  an  eye  might  decamp  without  com- 
plaining or  asking  leave. 

On  returning  home,  his  Majesty,  after  dinner,  told  the 
Cardinal  to  give  orders  to  his  treasurer  of  the  Exchequer 
that  he  should  pay  me  at  an  early  date  seven  thousand  crowns 
of  gold,  in  three  or  four  instalments,  according  to  his  own 
convenience,  provided  only  that  he  executed  the  commis- 
sion faithfully.  At  the  same  time  he  repeated  words  to  this 
effect:  "  I  gave  Benvenuto  into  your  charge,  and  you  have 
forgotten  all  about  him."  The  Cardinal  said  that  he  would 
punctually  perform  his  Majesty's  commands;  but  his  own 
bad  nature  made  him  wait  till  the  King's  fit  of  generosity 
was  over.  Meanwhile  wars  and  rumours  of  wars  were  on 
the  increase;  it  was  the  moment  when  the  Emperor  with  a 
huge  army  was  marching  upon  Paris.^     Seeing  the  realm  of 

'That  is,  in  Italian,  "the  rough  rind,"  a  name  given  to  rustics. 
Scorzone  is  also  the  name  for  a  little  black  venomous  serpent. 

'  In  1544  Charles  V  advanced  toward  Champagne  and  threatened 
Paris,  while  the  English  were  besieging  Boulogne. 


MEMOIRS  305 

France  to  be  in  great  need  of  money,  the  Cardinal  one  day 
began  to  talk  of  nie,  and  said:  "  Sacred  Majesty,  acting  for 
the  best,  I  have  not  had  that  money  given  to  Benvenuto. 
First,  it  is  sorely  wanted  now  for  public  uses.  Secondly,  so 
great  a  donation  would  have  exposed  you  to  the  risk  of  losing 
Benvenuto  altogether;  for  if  he  found  himself  a  rich  man, 
he  might  have  invested  his  money  in  Italy,  and  the  moment 
some  caprice  took  hold  of  him,  he  would  have  decamped  with- 
out hesitation.  I  therefore  consider  that  your  Majesty's  best 
course  will  be  to  present  him  with  something  in  your  king- 
dom, if  you  want  to  keep  him  in  your  service  for  any  length 
of  time."  The  King,  being  really  in  want  of  money,  approved 
of  these  arguments;  nevertheless,  like  the  noble  soul  he  was, 
and  truly  worthy  of  his  royal  station,  he  judged  rightly  that 
the  Cardinal  had  acted  thus  in  order  to  curry  favour  rather 
than  from  any  clear  prevision  of  distressed  finances  in  so 

vast  a  realm. 

XXXIX 

As  I  have  just  said,  his  Majesty  affected  to  concur  with 
the  Cardinal,  but  his  own  private  mind  was  otherwise  made 
up.  Accordingly,  upon  the  day  after  his  arrival,  without 
solicitation  upon  my  part,  he  came  of  his  own  accord  to  my 
house.  I  went  to  meet  him,  and  conducted  him  through 
several  rooms  where  divers  works  of  art  were  on  view.  Be- 
ginning with  the  less  important,  I  pointed  out  a  quantity  of 
things  in  bronze;  and  it  was  long  since  he  had  seen  so  many 
at  once.  Then  I  took  him  to  see  the  Jupiter  in  silver,  now 
nearly  completed,  with  all  its  splendid  decorations.  It  so 
happened  that  a  grievous  disappointment  which  he  had  suf- 
fered a  few  years  earlier,  made  him  think  this  piece  more 
admirable  than  it  might  perhaps  have  appeared  to  any  other 
man.  The  occasion  to  which  I  refer  w-as  this:  After  the  cap- 
ture of  Tunis,  the  Emperor  passed  through  Paris  with  the 
consent  of  his  brother-in-law.  King  Francis,^  who  wanted  to 
present  him  with  something  worthy  of  so  great  a  potentate. 
Having  this  in  view,  he  ordered  a  Hercules  to  be  executed 
in  silver,  exactly  of  the  same  size  as  my  Jupiter.  The  King 
declared  this  Hercules  to  be  the  ugliest  work  of  art  that  he 
had  ever  seen,  and  spoke  his  opinion  plainly  to  the  crafts- 

'  In  the  year  1539  Charles  V  obtained  leave  to  traverse  France  with 
his  army  on  the  way  to  Flanders. 


3o6  CELLINI 

men  of  Paris.     They  vaunted  themselves  to  be  the  ablest 
craftsmen  in  the  world  for  works  of  this  kind,  and  informed 
the  King  that  nothing  more  perfect  could  possibly  have  been 
produced  in  silver,  insisting  at  the  same  time  upon  receiving 
two  thousand  ducats  for  their  filthy  piece  of  work.     This 
made  the  King,  when  he  beheld  mine,  affirm  that  the  finish 
of  its  workmanship  exceeded  his  highest  expectations.     Ac- 
cordingly he  made  an  equitable  judgment,  and  had  my  statue 
valued  also  at  two  thousand  ducats,  saying:  "  I  gave  those 
other  men  no  salary;  Cellini,  who  gets  about  a  thousand 
crowns  a  year  from  me,  can  surely  let  me  have  this  master- 
piece for  two  thousand  crowns  of  gold,  since  he  has  his  salary 
into  the  bargain."     Then   I  exhibited  other  things  in  gold 
and  silver,  and  a  variety  of  models  for  new  undertakings.    At 
the  last,  just  when  he  was  taking  leave,  I  pointed  out  upon 
the  lawn  of  the  castle  that  great  giant,  which  roused  him  to 
higher  astonishment  than  any  of  the  other  things  he  had  in- 
spected.    Turning   to   his   Admiral,   who   was   called    Mon- 
signor  Aniballe,^  he  said:  "Since  the  Cardinal  has  made  him 
no  provision,  we  must  do  so,  and  all  the  more  because  the 
man  himself  is  so  slow  at  asking  favours — to  cut  it  short,  I 
mean  to  have  him  well  provided  for;  yes,  these  men  who  ask 
for  nothing  feel  that  their  masterpieces  call  aloud  for  recom- 
pense; therefore  see  that  he  gets  the  first  abbey  that  falls 
vacant  worth  two  thousand  crowns  a  year.    If  this  can  not  be 
had  in  one  benefice,  let  him  have  two  or  three  to  that  amount, 
for  in  his  case  it  will  come  to  the  same  thing."     As  I  was 
standing  by,  I  could  hear  what  the  King  said,  and  thanked 
his  Majesty  at  once  for  the  donation,  as  though  I  were  already 
in  possession.    I  told  him  that  as  soon  as  his  orders  were  car- 
ried into  effect,  I  would  work  for  his  Majesty  without  other 
salary  or  recompense  of  any  kind  until  old  age  deprived  me 
of  the  power  to  labour,  when  I  hoped  to  rest  my  tired  body 
in  peace,  maintaining  myself  with  honour  on  that  income, 
and  always  bearing  in  mind  that  I  had  served  so  great  a  mon- 
arch as  his  Majesty.     At  the  end  of  this  speech  the  King 
turned  toward  me  with  a  lively  gesture  and  a  joyous  counte- 
nance, saying,  "  So  let  it  then  he  done."     After  that  he  de- 
parted, highly  satisfied  with  what  he  had  seen  there. 

'  Claude  d'Annebault ;  captured  at  Pavia  with  Francis ;    Marshal  in 
1538  ;  Admiral  of  France  in  1543. 


MEMOIRS  307 

XL 

Madame  d'Etampes,  when  she  heard  how  well  my  affairs 
were  going,  redoubled  her  spite  against  me,  saying  in  her 
own  heart:  "  It  is  I  who  rule  the  world  to-day,  and  a  little 
fellow  like  that  snaps  his  fingers  at  me!  "  She  put  every  iron 
into  the  fire  which  she  could  think  of,  in  order  to  stir  up  mis- 
chief against  me.  Now  a  certain  man  fell  in  her  way,  who 
enjoyed  great  fame  as  a  distiller;  he  supplied  her  with  per- 
fumed waters,  which  were  excellent  for  the  complexion,  and 
hitherto  unknown  in  France.  This  fellow  she  introduced  to 
the  King,  who  was  much  delighted  by  the  processes  for  dis- 
tilling which  he  exhibited.  While  engaged  in  these  experi- 
ments, the  man  begged  his  Majesty  to  give  him  a  tennis-court 
I  had  in  my  castle,  together  with  some  little  apartments  which 
he  said  I  did  not  use.  The  good  King,  guessing  who  was  at 
the  bottom  of  the  business,  made  no  answer;  but  Madame 
d'Etampes  used  those  wiles  with  which  women  know  so  well 
to  w'ork  on  men,  and  very  easily  succeeded  in  her  enterprise; 
for  having  taken  the  King  at  a  moment  of  amorous  weakness, 
to  which  he  was  much  subject,  she  wheedled  him  into  con- 
ceding what  she  wanted. 

The  distiller  came,  accompanied  by  Treasurer  Grolier,  a 
very  great  nobleman  of  France,  who  spoke  Italian  excellently, 
and  when  he  entered  my  castle,  began  to  jest  with  me  in 
that  language.^  Watching  his  opportunity,  he  said :  "  In  the 
King's  name  I  put  this  man  here  into  possession  of  that  tennis- 
court,  together  with  the  lodgings  that  pertain  to  it."  To  this 
I  answered:  "The  sacred  King  is  lord  of  all  things  here:  so 
then  you  might  have  effected  an  entrance  with  more  free- 
dom: coming  thus  with  notaries  and  people  of  the  court  looks 
more  like  a  fraud  than  the  mandate  of  a  powerful  monarch. 
I  assure  you  that,  before  I  carry  my  complaints  before  the 
King,  I  shall  defend  my  right  in  the  way  his  Majesty  gave 
me  orders  two  days  since  to  do.  I  shall  fling  the  man  whom 
you  have  put  upon  me  out  of  windows  if  I  do  not  see  a  war- 
rant under  the  King's  own  hand  and  seal."  After  this  speech 
the  treasurer  went  off  threatening  and  grumbling,  and  I  re- 
mained doing  the  same,  without,  however,  beginning  the 
attack  at  once.    Then  I  went  to  the  notaries  who  had  put  the 

'  Jean  Grolier,  the  famous  French  Maecenas,  collector  of  books  and 
antiquities. 


3o8  CELLINI 

fellow  in  possession.  I  was  well  acquainted  with  them;  and 
they  gave  me  to  understand  that  this  was  a  formal  proceed- 
ing, done  indeed  at  the  King's  orders,  but  that  it  had  not  any 
great  significance;  if  I  had  offered  some  trifling  opposition 
the  fellow  would  not  have  installed  himself  as  he  had  done. 
The  formalities  were  acts  and  customs  of  the  court,  which 
did  not  concern  obedience  to  the  King;  consequently,  if  I 
succeeded  in  ousting  him,  I  should  have  acted  rightly,  and 
should  not  incur  any  risk. 

This  hint  was  enough  for  me,  and  next  morning  I  had 
recourse  to  arms;  and  though  the  job  cost  me  some  trouble, 
I  enjoyed  it.  Each  day  that  followed,  I  made  an  attack  with 
stones,  pikes,  and  arquebuses,  firing,  however,  without  ball; 
nevertheless,  I  inspired  such  terror  that  no  one  dared  to  help 
my  antagonist.  Accordingly,  when  I  noticed  one  day  that 
his  defence  was  feeble,  I  entered  the  house  by  force,  and 
expelled  the  fellow,  turning  all  his  goods  and  chattels  into 
the  street.  Then  I  betook  me  to  the  King,  and  told  him  that 
I  had  done  precisely  as  his  Majesty  had  ordered,  by  defend- 
ing myself  against  every  one  who  sought  to  hinder  me  in  his 
service.  The  King  laughed  at  the  matter,  and  made  me  out 
new  letters-patent  to  secure  me  from  further  molestation. 

XLI 

In  the  meantime  I  brought  my  silver  Jupiter  to  comple- 
tion, together  with  its  gilded  pedestal,  which  I  placed  upon 
a  wooden  plinth  that  only  showed  a  very  little;  upon  the 
plinth  I  introduced  four  little  round  balls  of  hard  wood,  more 
than  half  hidden  in  their  sockets,  like  the  nut  of  a  crossbow. 
They  were  so  nicely  arranged  that  a  child  could  push  the 
statue  forward  and  backward,  or  turn  it  round  with  ease. 
Having  arranged  it  thus  to  my  mind,  I  went  with  it  to  Fon- 
tainebleau,  where  the  King  was  then  residing. 

At  that  time,  Bologna,  of  whom  I  have  already  said  so 
much,  had  brought  from  Rome  his  statues,  and  had  cast  them 
very  carefully  in  bronze.  I  knew  nothing  about  this,  partly 
because  he  kept  his  doings  very  dark,  and  also  because  Fon- 
tainebleau  is  forty  miles  distant  from  Paris.  On  asking  the 
King  where  he  wanted  me  to  set  up  my  Jupiter,  Madame 
d'Etampes,  who  happened  to  be  present,  told  him  there  was 
no  place  more  appropriate  than  his  own  handsome  gallery. 


MEMOIRS  309 

This  was,  as  we  should  say  in  Tuscany,  a  loggia,  or,  more 
exactly,  a  large  lobby;  it  ought  indeed  to  be  called  a  lobby, 
because  what  we  mean  by  loggia  is  open  at  one  side.  The 
hall  was  considerably  longer  than  100  paces,  decorated,  and 
very  rich  with  pictures  from  the  hand  of  that  admirable  Rosso, 
our  Florentine  master.  Among  the  pictures  were  arranged 
a  great  variety  of  sculptured  works,  partly  in  the  round,  and 
partly  in  bas-relief.  The  breadth  was  about  twelve  paces. 
Now  Bologna  had  brought  all  his  antiques  into  this  gallery, 
wrought  with  great  beauty  in  bronze,  and  had  placed  them 
in  a  handsome  row  upon  their  pedestals;  and  they  were,  as 
I  have  said,  the  choicest  of  the  Roman  antiquities.  Into  this 
same  gallery  I  took  my  Jupiter;  and  when  I  saw  that  grand 
parade,  so  artfully  planned,  I  said  to  myself:  "  This  is  like 
running  the  gantlet;  now  may  God  assist  me."  I  placed 
the  statue,  and  having  arranged  it  as  well  as  I  was  able, 
waited  for  the  coming  of  the  King.  The  Jupiter  was  raising 
his  thunderbolt  with  the  right  hand  in  the  act  to  hurl  it;  his 
left  hand  held  the  globe  of  the  world.  Among  the  flames  of 
the  thunderbolt  I  had  very  cleverly  introduced  a  torch  of 
white  wax.  Now  Madame  d'Etampes  detained  the  King  till 
nightfall,  wishing  to  do  one  of  two  mischiefs,  either  to  pre- 
vent his  coming,  or  else  to  spoil  the  effect  of  my  work  by  its 
being  shown  off  after  dark;  but  as  God  has  promised  to  those 
who  trust  in  Him,  it  turned  out  exactly  opposite  to  her  cal- 
culations; for  when  night  came,  I  set  fire  to  the  torch,  which, 
standing  higher  than  the  head  of  Jupiter,  shed  light  from 
above  and  showed  the  statue  far  better  than  by  daytime. 

At  length  the  King  arrived;  he  was  attended  by  his  Ma- 
dame d'Etampes,  his  son  the  Dauphin  and  the  Dauphiness, 
together  with  the  King  of  Navarre  his  brother-in-law,  Madame 
Marguerite  his  daughter,  and  several  other  great  lords,  who 
had  been  instructed  by  Madame  d'Etampes  to  speak  against 
me.  When  the  King  appeared,  I  made  my  prentice  Ascanio 
push  the  Jupiter  toward  his  Majesty.  As  it  moved  smoothly 
forward,  my  cunning  in  its  turn  was  amply  rewarded,  for 
this  gentle  motion  made  the  figure  seem  alive;  the  antiques 
were  left  in  the  background,  and  my  work  was  the  first  to 
take  the  eye  with  pleasure.  The  King  exclaimed  at  once: 
"  This  is  by  far  the  finest  thing  that  has  ever  been  seen ;  and 
I,  although  I  am  an  amateur  and  judge  of  art,  could  never 


3IO  CELLINI 

have  conceived  the  hundredth  part  of  its  beauty."  The  lords 
whose  cue  it  was  to  speak  against  me,  now  seemed  as  though 
they  could  not  praise  my  masterpiece  enough.  Madame 
d'Etampes  said  boldly:  "  One  would  think  you  had  no  eyes! 
Don't  you  see  all  those  fine  bronzes  from  the  antique  behind 
there?  In  those  consists  the  real  distinction  of  this  art,  and 
not  in  that  modern  trumpery."  Then  the  King  advanced, 
and  the  others  with  him.  After  casting  a  glance  at  the 
bronzes,  which  were  not  shown  to  advantage  from  the  light 
being  below  them,  he  exclaimed:  "  Whoever  wanted  to  injure 
this  man  has  done  him  a  great  service;  for  the  comparison 
of  these  admirable  statues  demonstrates  the  immeasurable 
superiority  of  his  work  in  beauty  and  in  art.  Benvenuto  de- 
serves to  be  made  much  of,  for  his  performances  do  not  merely 
rival,  but  surpass  the  antique."  In  reply  to  this,  Madame 
d'Etampes  observed  that  my  Jupiter  would  not  make  any- 
thing like  so  fine  a  show  by  daylight;  besides,  one  had  to  con- 
sider that  I  had  put  a  veil  upon  my  statue  to  conceal  its  faults. 
I  had  indeed  flung  a  gauze  veil  with  elegance  and  delicacy 
over  a  portion  of  my  statue,  with  the  view  of  augmenting  its 
majesty.  This,  when  she  had  finished  speaking,  I  lifted  from 
beneath,  uncovering  the  handsome  legs  of  the  god;  then  tore 
the  veil  to  pieces  with  vexation.  She  imagined  I  had  disclosed 
those  parts  of  the  statue  to  insult  her.  The  King  noticed  how 
angry  she  was,  while  I  was  trying  to  force  some  words  out 
in  my  fury;  so  he  wisely  spoke,  in  his  own  language,  pre- 
cisely as  follows:  "  Benvenuto,  I  forbid  you  to  speak;  hold 
your  tongue,  and  you  shall  have  a  thousand  times  more  wealth 
than  you  desire."  Not  being  allowed  to  speak,  I  writhed  my 
body  in  a  rage;  this  made  her  grumble  with  redoubled  spite; 
and  the  King  departed  sooner  than  he  would  otherwise  have 
done,  calling  aloud,  however,  to  encourage  me:  "  I  have 
brought  from  Italy  the  greatest  man  who  ever  lived,  en- 
dowed with  all  the  talents." 

XLII 

I  left  the  Jupiter  there,  meaning  to  depart  the  next  morn- 
ing. Before  I  took  horse,  one  thousand  crowns  were  paid 
me,  partly  for  my  salary,  and  partly  on  account  of  monies 
I  had  disbursed.  Having  received  this  sum,  I  returned  with 
a  light  heart  and  satisfied  to  Paris,    No  sooner  had  I  reached 


MEMOIRS 


311 


home  and  dined  with  merry  cheer,  than  I  called  for  all  my 
wardrobe,  which  included  a  great  many  suits  of  silk,  choice 
furs,  and  also  very  fine  cloth  stuflfs.  From  these  I  selected 
presents  for  my  workpeople,  giving  each  something  accord- 
ing to  his  desert,  down  to  the  servant-girls  and  stable-boys, 
in  order  to  encourage  them  to  aid  me  heartily. 

Being  then  refreshed  in  strength  and  spirits,  I  attacked 
the  great  statue  of  Mars,  which  I  had  set  up  solidly  upon  a 
frame  of  well-connected  woodwork.  Over  this  there  lay  a 
crust  of  plaster,  about  the  eighth  of  a  cubit  in  thickness, 
carefully  modelled  for  the  flesh  of  the  Colossus.  Lastly,  I 
prepared  a  great  number  of  moulds  in  separate  pieces  to  com- 
pose the  figure,  intending  to  dovetail  them  together  in  ac- 
cordance with  the  rules  of  art;  and  this  task  involved  no 
difficulty. 

I  will  not  here  omit  to  relate  something  which  may  serve 
to  give  a  notion  of  the  size  of  this  great  work,  and  is  at  the 
same  time  highly  comic.  It  must  first  be  mentioned  that 
I  had  forbidden  all  the  men  who  lived  at  my  cost  to  bring 
women  into  my  house  or  anywhere  within  the  castle  pre- 
cincts. Upon  this  point  of  discipline  I  was  extremely  strict. 
Now  my  lad  Ascanio  loved  a  very  handsome  girl,  who  re- 
turned his  passion.  One  day  she  gave  her  mother  the  slip, 
and  came  to  see  Ascanio  at  night.  Finding  that  she  would 
not  take  her  leave,  and  being  driven  to  his  wits'  ends  to  con- 
ceal her,  like  a  person  of  resources,  he  hit  at  last  upon  the 
plan  of  installing  her  inside  the  statue.  There,  in  the  head 
itself,  he  made  her  up  a  place  to  sleep  in;  this  lodging  she 
occupied  some  time,  and  he  used  to  bring  her  forth  at  whiles 
with  secrecy.  I  meanwhile  having  brought  this  part  of  the 
Colossus  almost  to  completion,  left  it  alone,  and  indulged 
my  vanity  a  bit  by  exposing  it  to  sight;  it  could,  indeed,  be 
seen  by  more  than  half  Paris.  The  neighbours,  therefore, 
took  to  climbing  their  house-roofs,  and  crowds  came  on  pur- 
pose to  enjoy  the  spectacle.  Now  there  was  a  legend  in  the 
city  that  my  castle  had  from  olden  times  been  haunted  by 
a  spirit,  though  I  never  noticed  anything  to  confirm  this  be- 
lief; and  folk  in  Paris  called  it  popularly  by  the  name  of  Lem- 
monio  Boreo.^     The  girl,  while  she  sojourned  in  the  statue's 

'  Properly,  Le  Moine  Bourru,  the  ghost  of  a  monk  dressed  in  drugget. 
Le  Petit  Nesle  had  a  bad  reputation  on  account  of  the  murders  said  to 


312 


CELLINI 


head,  could  not  prevent  some  of  her  movements  to  and  fro 
from  being  perceptible  through  its  eye-holes;  this  made  stupid 
people  say  that  the  ghost  had  got  into  the  body  of  the  figure, 
and  was  setting  its  eyes  in  motion,  and  its  mouth,  as  though 
it  were  about  to  talk.  Many  of  them  went  away  in  terror; 
others,  more  incredulous,  came  to  observe  the  phenomenon, 
and  when  they  were  unable  to  deny  the  flashing  of  the  statue's 
eyes,  they  too  declared  their  credence  in  a  spirit — not  guess- 
ing that  there  was  a  spirit  there,  and  sound  young  flesh  to 

boot. 

XLIII 

All  this  while  I  was  engaged  in  putting  my  door  together, 
with  its  several  appurtenances.  As  it  is  no  part  of  my  pur- 
pose to  include  in  this  autobiography  such  things  as  annal- 
ists record,  I  have  omitted  the  coming  of  the  Emperor  with 
his  great  host,  and  the  King's  mustering  of  his  whole  army.^ 
At  the  time  when  these  events  took  place,  his  Majesty  sought 
my  advice  with  r&gard  to  the  instantaneous  fortification  of 
Paris.  He  came  on  purpose  to  my  house,  and  took  me  all 
round  the  city;  and  when  he  found  that  I  was  prepared  to 
fortify  the  town  with  expedition  on  a  sound  plan,  he  gave 
express  orders  that  all  my  suggestions  should  be  carried  out. 
His  Admiral  was  directed  to  command  the  citizens  to  obey 
me  under  pain  of  his  displeasure. 

Now  the  Admiral  had  been  appointed  through  Madame 
d'Etampes's  influence  rather  than  from  any  proof  of  his  abil- 
ity, for  he  was  a  man  of  little  talent.  He  bore  the  name  of 
M.  d'Annebault,  which  in  our  tongue  is  Monsignor  d'Ani- 
balle;  but  the  French  pronounce  it  so  that  they  usually  made 
it  sound  like  Monsignore  Asino  Bue.  This  animal  then  re- 
ferred to  Madame  d'Etampes  for  advice  upon  the  matter,  and 
she  ordered  him  to  summon  Girolamo  Bellarmato  without 
loss  of  time.^  He  was  an  engineer  from  Siena,  at  that  time 
in  Dieppe,  which  is  rather  more  than  a  day's  journey  distant 
from  the  capital.     He  came  at  once,  and  set  the  work  of 

have  been  committed  there  in  the  fourteenth  century  by  Queen  Jeanne, 
wife  of  Philip  V. 

*  Toward  the  end  of  August,  1544,  the  Imperial  army  advanced  as  far 
as  Epernay,  within  twenty  leagues  of  Paris. 

'  Girolamo  Bellarmati,  a  learned  mathematician  and  military  archi- 
tect, banished  from  Siena  for  political  reasons.  He  designed  the  harbour 
of  Havre. 


MEMOIRS 


313 


fortification  going  on  a  very  tedious  method,  which  made 
me  throw  the  job  up.  If  the  Emperor  had  pushed  forward 
at  this  time,  he  might  easily  have  taken  Paris.  People  in- 
deed said  that,  when  a  treaty  of  peace  was  afterward  con- 
cluded, Madame  d'Etampes,  who  took  more  part  in  it  than 
anybody  else,  betrayed  the  King.^  I  shall  pass  this  matter 
over  without  further  words,  since  it  has  nothing  to  do  with 
the  plan  of  my  "  Memoirs."  Meanwhile,  I  worked  diligently 
at  the  door,  and  finished  the  vase,  together  with  two  others 
of  middling  size,  which  I  made  of  my  own  silver.  At  the  end 
of  those  great  troubles,  the  King  came  to  take  his  ease  awhile 
in  Paris. 

That  accursed  woman  seemed  born  to  be  the  ruin  of  the 
world.  I  ought  therefore  to  think  myself  of  some  account, 
seeing  she  held  me  for  her  mortal  enemy.  Happening  to 
speak  one  day  with  the  good  King  about  my  matters,  she 
abused  me  to  such  an  extent  that  he  swore,  in  order  to  appease 
her,  he  would  take  no  more  heed  of  me  thenceforward  than 
if  he  had  never  set  eyes  upon  my  face.  These  words  were 
immediately  brought  me  by  a  page  of  Cardinal  Ferrara,  called 
II  Villa,  who  said  he  had  heard  the  King  utter  them.  I  was 
infuriated  to  such  a  pitch  that  I  dashed  my  tools  across  the 
room  and  all  the  things  I  was  at  work  on,  made  my  arrange- 
ments to  quit  France,  and  went  upon  the  spot  to  find  the 
King.  When  he  had  dined,  I  was  show-n  into  a  room  where 
I  found  his  Majesty  in  the  company  of  a  very  few  persons. 
After  I  had  paid  him  the  respects  due  to  kings,  he  bowed  his 
head  wath  a  gracious  smile.  This  revived  hope  in  me;  so  I 
drew  nearer  to  his  Majesty,  for  they  were  showing  him  some 
things  in  my  own  line  of  art;  and  after  we  had  talked  awhile 
about  such  matters,  he  asked  if  I  had  anything  worth  seeing 
at  my  house,  and  next  inquired  when  I  should  like  him  to 
come.  I  replied  that  I  had  some  pieces  ready  to  show  his 
Majesty,  if  he  pleased,  at  once.  He  told  me  to  go  home  and 
he  would  come  immediately. 

XLIV 

I  went  accordingly,  and  w^aited  for  the  good  King's  visit, 

who,  it  seems,  had  gone  meanwhile  to  take  leave  of  Madame 

'  There  is  indeed  good  reason  to  believe  that  the  King's  mistress,  in 
her  jealousy  of  the  Dauphin  and  Diane  de  Poitiers,  played  false,  and 
enabled  the  Imperialists  to  advance  beyond  Epernay. 


314 


CELLINI 


d'Etampes.  She  asked  whither  he  was  bound,  adding  that 
she  would  accompany  him;  but  when  he  informed  her,  she 
told  him  that  she  would  not  go,  and  begged  him  as  a  special 
favour  not  to  go  himself  that  day.  She  had  to  return  to  the 
charge  more  than  twice  before  she  shook  the  King's  deter- 
mination; however,  he  did  not  come  to  visit  me  that  day. 
Next  morning  I  went  to  his  Majesty  at  the  same  hour;  and 
no  sooner  had  he  caught  sight  of  me,  than  he  swore  it  was 
his  intention  to  come  to  me  upon  the  spot.  Going  then,  ac- 
cording to  his  wont,  to  take  leave  of  his  dear  Madame 
d'Etampes,  this  lady  saw  that  all  her  influence  had  not  been 
able  to  divert  him  from  his  purpose;  so  she  began  with  that 
biting  tongue  of  hers  to  say  the  worst  of  me  that  could  be 
insinuated  against  a  deadly  enemy  of  this  most  worthy  crown 
of  France.  The  good  King  appeased  her  by  replying  that  the 
sole  object  of  his  visit  was  to  administer  such  a  scolding  as 
should  make  me  tremble  in  my  shoes.  This  he  swore  to  do 
upon  his  honour.  Then  he  came  to  my  house,  and  I  con- 
ducted him  through  certain  rooms  upon  the  basement,  where 
I  had  put  the  whole  of  my  great  door  together.  Upon  be- 
holding it,  the  King  w^as  struck  with  stupefaction,  and  quite 
lost  his  cue  for  reprimanding  me,  as  he  had  promised  Ma- 
dame d'Etampes.  Still  he  did  not  choose  to  go  away  with- 
out finding  some  opportunity  for  scolding;  so  he  began  in 
this  wise:  "There  is  one  most  important  matter,  Benvenuto, 
which  men  of  your  sort,  though  full  of  talent,  ought  always 
to  bear  in  mind;  it  is  that  you  can  not  bring  your  great  gifts 
to  light  by  your  own  strength  alone;  you  show  your  great- 
ness only  through  the  opportunities  we  give  you.  Now  you 
ought  to  be  a  little  more  submissive,  not  so  arrogant  and 
headstrong.  I  remember  that  I  gave  you  express  orders  to 
make  me  twelve  silver  statues;  and  this  was  all  I  wanted. 
You  have  chosen  to  execute  a  salt-cellar,  and  vases  and  busts 
and  doors,  and  a  heap  of  other  things,  which  quite  confound 
me,  when  I  consider  how  you  have  neglected  my  wishes  and 
worked  for  the  fulfilment  of  your  own.  If  you  mean  to  go 
on  in  this  way,  I  shall  presently  let  you  understand  what  is 
my  own  method  of  procedure  when  I  choose  to  have  things 
done  in  my  own  way.  I  tell  you,  therefore,  plainly:  do  your 
utmost  to  obey  my  commands;  for  if  you  stick  to  your  own 
fancies,  you  will  run  your  head  against  a  wall."     While  he 


MEMOIRS 


315 


was  uttering  these  words,  his  lords  in  waiting  hung  upon 
the  King's  Hps,  seeing  him  shake  his  head,  frown,  and  gesticu- 
late, now  with  one  hand  and  now  with  the  other.  The  whole 
company  of  attendants,  therefore,  quaked  with  fear  for  me; 
but  I  stood  firm,  and  let  no  breath  of  fear  pass  over  me. 

XLV 

When  he  had  wound  up  this  sermon,  agreed  upon  before- 
hand with  his  darling  Madame  d'Etampes,  I  bent  one  leg 
upon  the  ground,  and  kissed  his  coat  above  the  knee.  Then 
I  began  my  speech  as  follows:  "Sacred  Majesty,  I  admit 
that  all  that  you  have  said  is  true.  Only,  in  reply,  I  protest 
that  my  heart  has  ever  been,  by  day  and  night,  with  all  my 
vital  forces,  bent  on  serving  you  and  executing  your  com- 
mands. If  it  appears  to  your  Majesty  that  my  actions  contra- 
dict these  words,  let  your  Majesty  be  sure  that  Benvenuto  was 
not  at  fault,  but  rather  possibly  my  evil  fate  or  adverse  for- 
tune, which  has  made  me  unworthy  to  serve  the  most  ad- 
mirable prince  who  ever  blessed  this  earth.  Therefore  I 
crave  your  pardon.  I  was  under  the  impression,  however, 
that  your  Majesty  had  given  me  silver  for  one  statue  only; 
having  no  more  at  my  disposal,  I  could  not  execute  others; 
so,  with  the  surplus  which  remained  for  use,  I  made  this  vase, 
to  show  your  Majesty  the  grand  style  of  the  ancients.  Per- 
haps you  never  had  seen  anything  of  the  sort  before.  As 
for  the  salt-cellar,  I  thought,  if  my  memory  does  not  betray 
me,  that  your  Majesty  on  one  occasion  ordered  me  to  make 
it  of  your  own  accord.  The  conversation  falling  upon  some- 
thing of  the  kind  which  had  been  brought  for  your  inspec- 
tion, I  showed  you  a  model  made  by  me  in  Italy;  you,  fol- 
lowing the  impulse  of  your  own  mind  only,  had  a  thousand 
golden  ducats  told  out  for  me  to  execute  the  piece  withal, 
thanking  me  in  addition  for  my  hint;  and  what  is  more,  I 
seem  to  remember  that  you  commended  me  highly  when  it 
was  completed.  As  regards  the  door,  it  was  my  impression 
that,  after  we  had  chanced  to  speak  about  it  at  some  time 
or  other,  your  Majesty  gave  orders  to  your  chief  secretary, 
M.  Villerois,  from  whom  the  order  passed  to  M.  de  Marmagne 
and  M.  de  la  Fa,  to  this  effect,  that  all  these  gentlemen  should 
keep  me  going  at  the  work,  and  see  that  I  obtained  the  neces- 
sary funds.    Without  such  commission  I  should  certainly  not 


3i6 


CELLINI 


have  been  able  to  advance  so  great  an  undertaking  on  my 
own  resources.  As  for  the  bronze  heads,  the  pedestal  of 
Jupiter  and  other  such-like  things,  I  will  begin  by  saying  that 
I  cast  those  heads  upon  my  own  account,  in  order  to  become 
acquainted  with  French  clays,  of  which,  as  a  foreigner,  I  had 
no  previous  knowledge  whatsoever.  Unless  I  had  made  the 
experiment,  I  could  not  have  set  about  casting  those  large 
works.  Now,  touching  the  pedestals,  I  have  to  say  that  I 
made  them  because  I  judged  them  necessary  to  the  statues. 
Consequently,  in  all  that  I  have  done,  I  meant  to  act  for  the 
best,  and  at  no  point  to  swerve  from  your  Majesty's  expressed 
wishes.  It  is  indeed  true  that  I  set  that  huge  Colossus  up 
to  satisfy  my  own  desire,  paying  for  it  from  my  own  purse, 
even  to  the  point  which  it  has  reached,  because  I  thought 
that,  you  being  the  great  king  you  are,  and  I  the  trifling 
artist  that  I  am,  it  was  my  duty  to  erect  for  your  glory  and 
my  own  a  statue,  the  like  of  which  the  ancients  never  saw. 
Now,  at  the  last,  having  been  taught  that  God  is  not  inclined 
to  make  me  w'orthy  of  so  glorious  a  service,  I  beseech  your 
Majesty,  instead  of  the  noble  recompense  you  had  in  mind 
to  give  me  for  my  labours,  bestow  upon  me  only  one  small 
trifle  of  your  favour,  and  therewith  the  leave  to  quit  your 
kingdom.  At  this  instant,  if  you  condescend  to  my  request, 
I  shall  return  to  Italy,  always  thanking  God  and  your  Majesty 
for  the  happy  hours  which  I  have  passed  in  serving  you." 

XLVI 

The  King  stretched  forth  his  own  hands  and  raised  me 
very  graciously.  Then  he  told  me  that  I  ought  to  continue 
in  his  service,  and  that  all  that  I  had  done  was  right  and  pleas- 
ing to  him.  Turning  to  the  lords  in  his  company,  he  spoke 
these  words  precisely:  "I  verily  believe  that  a  finer  door 
could  not  be  made  for  Paradise  itself."  When  he  had  ceased 
speaking,  although  his  speech  had  been  entirely  in  my  favour, 
I  again  thanked  him  respectfully,  repeating,  however,  my 
request  for  leave  to  travel;  for  the  heat  of  my  indignation 
had  not  yet  cooled  down.  His  Majesty,  feeling  that  I  set 
too  little  store  upon  his  unwonted  and  extraordinary  conde- 
scension, commanded  me  with  a  great  and  terrible  voice  to 
hold  my  tongue,  unless  I  wanted  to  incur  his  wrath;  after- 
ward he  added  that  he  would  drown  me  in  gold,  and  that  he 


MEMOIRS  317 

gave  me  the  leave  I  asked;  and  over  and  above  the  works 
he  had  commissioned,  he  was  very  well  satisfied  with  what 
I  had  done  on  my  own  account  in  the  interval;  I  should  never 
henceforth  have  any  quarrels  with  him,  because  he  knew  my 
character;  and  for  my  part,  I  too  ought  to  study  the  temper 
of  his  Majesty,  as  my  duty  required.  I  answered  that  I 
thanked  God  and  his  Majesty  for  everything;  then  I  asked 
him  to  come  and  see  how  far  I  had  advanced  the  great  Colos- 
sus. So  he  came  to  my  house,  and  I  had  the  statue  uncovered; 
he  admired  it  extremely,  and  gave  orders  to  his  secretary  to 
pay  me  all  the  money  I  had  spent  upon  it,  be  the  sum  what 
it  might,  provided  I  wrote  the  bill  out  in  my  own  hand.  Then 
he  departed,  saying:  "  Adieu,  mon  ami,"  which  is  a  phrase 
not  often  used  by  kings. 

XLVII 

After  returning  to  his  palace,  he  called  to  mind  the  words 
I  had  spoken  in  our  previous  interview,  some  of  which  were 
so  excessively  humble,  and  others  so  proud  and  haughty,  that 
they  caused  him  no  small  irritation.  He  repeated  a  few  of 
them  in  the  presence  of  Madame  d'Etampes  and  Monsignor 
di  San  Polo,  a  great  baron  of  France.^  This  man  had  always 
professed  much  friendship  for  me  in  the  past,  and  certainly, 
on  that  occasion,  he  showed  his  good-will,  after  the  French 
fashion,  with  great  cleverness.  It  happened  thus:  the  King 
in  the  course  of  a  long  conversation  complained  that  the 
Cardinal  of  Ferrara,  to  whose  care  he  had  entrusted  me, 
never  gave  a  thought  to  my  affairs;  so  far  as  he  was  con- 
cerned, I  might  have  decamped  from  the  realm;  therefore 
he  must  certainly  arrange  for  committing  me  to  some  one 
who  would  appreciate  me  better,  because  he  did  not  want 
to  run  a  farther  risk  of  losing  me.  At  these  words  Monsieur  de 
Saint  Paul  expressed  his  w^illingness  to  undertake  the  charge, 
saying  that  if  the  King  appointed  him  my  guardian,  he  would 
act  so  that  I  should  never  have  the  chance  to  leave  the  king- 
dom. The  King  replied  that  he  was  very  well  satisfied,  if 
only  Saint  Paul  would  explain  the  way  in  which  he  meant  to 
manage  me.  Madame  sat  by  with  an  air  of  sullen  irritation, 
and  Saint  Paul  stood  on  his  dignity,  declining  to  answer  the 

*  Francis  de  Bourbon,  Comte  de  Saint  Paul,  one  of  the  chief  compan- 
ions in  arms  and  captains  of  Francis  I. 


3i8  CELLINI 

King's  question.  When  the  King  repeated  it,  he  said,  to 
curry  favour  with  Madame  d'Etampes:  "I  would  hang  that 
Benvenuto  of  yours  by  the  neck,  and  thus  you  w^ould  keep 
him  for  ever  in  your  kingdom."  She  broke  into  a  fit  of 
laughter,  protesting  that  I  richly  deserved  it.  The  King,  to 
keep  them  company,  began  to  laugh,  and  said  he  had  no 
objection  to  Saint  Paul  hanging  me,  if  he  could  first  produce 
my  equal  in  the  arts;  and  although  I  had  not  earned  such 
a  fate,  he  gave  him  full  liberty  and  license.  In  this  w^ay  that 
day  ended,  and  I  came  off  safe  and  sound,  for  which  may 
God  be  praised  and  thanked. 

XLVIII 

The  King  had  now  made  peace  with  the  Emperor,  but 
not  with  the  English,  and  these  devils  were  keeping  us  in 
constant  agitation.^  His  Majesty  had  therefore  other  things 
than  pleasure  to  attend  to.  He  ordered  Piero  Strozzi  to  go 
with  ships  of  war  into  the  English  waters;  but  this  was  a 
very  difficult  undertaking,  even  for  that  great  commander, 
without  a  paragon  at  his  times  in  the  art  of  war,  and  also 
without  a  paragon  in  his  misfortunes.  Several  months  passed 
without  my  receiving  money  or  commissions;  accordingly,  I 
dismissed  my  workpeople  with  the  exception  of  the  two  Ital- 
ians, whom  I  set  to  making  two  big  vases  out  of  my  own 
silver;  for  these  men  could  not  work  in  bronze.  After  they 
had  finished  these,  I  took  them  to  a  city  which  belonged  to 
the  Queen  of  Navarre;  it  is  called  Argentana,  and  is  dis- 
tant several  days'  journey  from  Paris.^  On  arriving  at  this 
place,  I  found  that  the  King  was  indisposed;  and  the  Cardi- 
nal of  Ferrara  told  his  Majesty  that  I  w^as  come.  He  made 
no  answer,  which  obliged  me  to  stay  several  days  kicking  my 
heels.  Of  a  truth,  I  never  was  more  uncomfortable  in  my 
life;  but  at  last  I  presented  myself  one  evening  and  offered 
the  two  vases  for  the  King's  inspection.  He  was  excessively 
delighted,  and  when  I  saw  him  in  good  humour,  I  begged 
his  Majesty  to  grant  me  the  favour  of  permitting  me  to  travel 

'  The  peace  of  Crepy  was  concluded  September  i8,  1544.  The  English 
had  taken  Boulogne  four  days  earlier.  Peace  between  France  and  Eng- 
land was  not  concluded  till  June  7,  1546. 

'  Argentan,  the  city  of  the  Duchy  of  Alen^on.  Margaret,  it  will  be 
remembered,  had  been  first  married  to  the  Due  d'Alenjon,  and  after  his 
death  retained  his  fiefs. 


MEMOIRS 


319 


into  Italy;  I  would  leave  the  seven  months  of  my  salary  which 
were  due,  and  his  Majesty  might  condescend  to  pay  me  when 
I  required  money  for  my  return  journey.  I  entreated  him  to 
grant  this  petition,  seeing  that  the  times  were  more  for  fight- 
ing than  for  making  statues;  moreover,  his  Majesty  had  al- 
lowed a  similar  license  to  Bologna  the  painter,  wherefore 
I  humbly  begged  him  to  concede  the  same  to  me.  While  I 
was  uttering  these  words  the  King  kept  gazing  intently  on 
the  vases,  and  from  time  to  time  shot  a  terrible  glance  at 
me;  nevertheless,  I  went  on  praying  to  the  best  of  my  ability 
that  he  would  favour  my  petition.  All  of  a  sudden  he  rose 
angrily  from  his  seat,  and  said  to  me  in  Italian:  "  Benvenuto, 
you  are  a  great  fool.  Take  these  vases  back  to  Paris,  for  I 
want  to  have  them  gilt."  Without  making  any  other  answer 
he  then  departed. 

I  went  up  to  the  Cardinal  of  Ferrara,  who  was  present, 
and  besought  him,  since  he  had  already  conferred  upon  me 
the  great  benefit  of  freeing  me  from  prison  in  Rome,  with 
many  others  besides,  to  do  me  this  one  favour  more  of  pro- 
curing for  me  leave  to  travel  into  Italy.  He  answered  that 
he  should  be  very  glad  to  do  his  best  to  gratify  me  in  this 
matter;  I  might  leave  it  without  farther  thought  to  him, 
and  even  if  I  chose,  might  set  ofT  at  once,  because  he  w'ould 
act  for  the  best  in  my  interest  with  the  King.  I  told  the 
Cardinal  that  since  I  was  aware  his  Majesty  had  put  me  under 
the  protection  of  his  most  reverend  lordship,  if  lie  gave  me 
leave,  I  felt  ready  to  depart,  and  promised  to  return  upon 
the  smallest  hint  from  his  reverence.  The  Cardinal  then  bade 
me  go  back  to  Paris  and  wait  there  eight  days,  during  which 
time  he  would  procure  the  King's  license  for  me;  if  his 
Majesty  refused  to  let  me  go.  he  would  without  fail  inform 
me;  but  if  I  received  no  letters,  that  would  be  a  sign  that 
I  might  set  oflF  with  an  easy  mind. 

XLIX 

I  obeyed  the  Cardinal,  and  returned  to  Paris,  where  I  made 
excellent  cases  for  my  three  silver  vases.  After  the  lapse  of 
twenty  days,  I  began  my  preparations,  and  packed  the  three 
vases  upon  a  mule.  This  animal  had  been  lent  me  for  the 
journey  to  Lyons  by  the  Bishop  of  Pavia,  who  was  now  once 
more  installed  in  my  castle. 


320  CELLINI 

Then  I  departed  in  my  evil  hour,  together  with  Signer 
IppoHto  Gonzaga,  at  that  time  in  the  pay  of  the  King,  and 
also  in  the  service  of  Count  Galeotto  della  Mirandola.  Some 
other  gentlemen  of  the  said  count  v^ent  with  us,  as  well  as 
Lionardo  Tedaldi,  our  fellow-citizen  of  Florence. 

I  made  Ascanio  and  Pagolo  guardians  of  my  castle  and 
all  my  property,  including  two  little  vases  which  were  only 
just  begun;  those  I  left  behind  in  order  that  the  two  young 
men  might  not  be  idle.  I  had  lived  very  handsomely  in  Paris, 
and  therefore  there  was  a  large  amount  of  costly  household 
furniture:  the  whole  value  of  these  effects  exceeded  1500 
crowns.  I  bade  Ascanio  remember  what  great  benefits  I  had 
bestowed  upon  him,  and  that  up  to  the  present  he  had  been 
a  mere  thoughtless  lad;  the  time  was  now  come  for  him  to 
show  the  prudence  of  a  man;  therefore  I  thought  fit  to  leave 
him  in  the  custody  of  all  my  goods,  as  also  of  my  honour. 
If  he  had  the  least  thing  to  complain  of  from  those  brutes 
of  Frenchmen,  he  was  to  let  me  hear  at  once,  because  I  would 
take  post  and  fly  from  any  place  in  which  I  found  myself, 
not  only  to  discharge  the  great  obligations  under  which  I  lay 
to  that  good  King,  but  also  to  defend  my  honour.  Ascanio 
replied  with  the  tears  of  a  thief  and  hypocrite:  "  I  have  never 
known  a  father  better  than  you  are,  and  all  things  which  a 
good  son  is  bound  to  perform  for  a  good  father  will  I  ever 
do  for  you."  So  then  I  took  my  departure,  attended  by  a 
servant  and  a  little  French  lad. 

It  was  just  past  noon,  when  some  of  the  King's  treasurers, 
by  no  means  friends  of  mine,  made  a  visit  to  my  castle.  The 
rascally  fellows  began  by  saying  that  I  had  gone  oflf  with  the 
King's  silver,  and  told  Messer  Guido  and  the  Bishop  of  Pavia 
to  send  at  once  ofT  after  his  Majesty's  vases;  if  not,  they 
would  themselves  despatch  a  messenger  to  get  them  back, 
and  do  me  some  great  mischief.  The  Bishop  and  Messer 
Guido  were  much  more  frightened  than  was  necessary;  so 
they  sent  that  traitor  Ascanio  by  the  post  off  on  the  spot. 
He  made  his  appearance  before  me  about  midnight.  I  had 
not  been  able  to  sleep,  and  kept  revolving  sad  thoughts  to 
the  following  effect:  "  In  whose  hands  have  I  left  my  prop- 
erty, my  castle?  Oh,  what  a  fate  is  this  of  mine,  which  forces 
me  to  take  this  journey!  Mav  God  grant  only  that  the  Car- 
dinal is  not  of  one  mind  with  Madame  d'Etampes,  who  has 


MEMOIRS  321 

nothing  else  so  much  at  heart  as  to  make  me  lose  the  grace 
of  that  good  King." 

While  I  was  thus  dismally  debating  with  myself,  I  heard 
Ascanio  calling  me.  On  the  instant  I  jumped  out  of  bed, 
and  asked  if  he  brought  good  or  evil  tidings.  The  knave 
answered:  "  It  is  good  news  I  bring;  but  you  must  only 
send  back  those  three  vases,  for  the  rascally  treasurers  keep 
shouting,  '  Stop,  thief! '  So  the  Bishop  and  Messer  Guido 
say  that  you  must  absolutely  send  them  back.  For  the  rest 
you  need  have  no  anxiety,  but  may  pursue  your  journey  with 
a  light  heart."  I  handed  over  the  vases  immediately,  two 
of  them  being  my  own  property,  together  with  the  silver 
and  much  else  besides.  I  had  meant  to  take  them  to  the 
Cardinal  of  Ferrara's  abbey  at  Lyons;  for  though  people 
accused  me  of  wanting  to  carry  them  into  Italy,  everybody 
knows  quite  well  that  it  is  impossible  to  export  money,  gold, 
or  silver  from  France  without  special  license.  Consider, 
therefore,  whether  I  could  have  crossed  the  frontier  with 
those  three  great  vases,  which,  together  with  their  cases, 
were  a  whole  mule's  burden!  It  is  certainly  true  that,  since 
these  articles  were  of  great  value  and  the  highest  beauty,  I 
felt  uneasiness  in  case  the  King  should  die,  and  I  had  lately 
left  him  in  a  very  bad  state  of  health;  therefore  I  said  to 
myself:  "  If  such  an  accident  should  happen,  having  these 
things  in  the  keeping  of  the  Cardinal,  I  shall  not  lose  them." 

Well,  to  cut  the  story  short,  I  sent  back  the  mule  with 
the  vases,  and  other  things  of  importance;  then,  upon  the 
following  morning,  I  travelled  forward  with  the  company 
I  have  already  mentioned,  nor  could  I,  through  the  whole 
journey,  refrain  from  sighing  and  weeping.  Sometimes,  how- 
ever, I  consoled  myself  with  God  by  saying:  "  Lord  God, 
before  whose  eyes  the  truth  lies  open!  Thou  knowest  that 
my  object  in  this  journey  is  only  to  carry  alms  to  six  poor 
miserable  virgins  and  their  mother,  my  own  sister.  They 
have  indeed  their  father,  but  he  is  very  old,  and  gains  nothing 
by  his  trade;  I  fear,  therefore,  lest  they  might  too  easily  take 
to  a  bad  course  of  life.  Since,  then,  I  am  performing  a  true 
act  of  piety,  I  look  to  Thy  Majesty  for  aid  and  counsel."  This 
was  all  the  recreation  I  enjoyed  upon  my  fonvard  journey. 

We  were  one  day  distant  from  Lyons,  and  it  was  close 
21 


322  CELLINI 

upon  the  hour  of  twenty-two,  when  the  heavens  began  to 
thunder  with  sharp  ratthng  claps,  although  the  sky  was  quite 
clear  at  the  time,  I  was  riding  a  cross-bow  shot  before  my 
comrades.  After  the  thunder  the  heavens  made  a  noise  so 
great  and  horrible  that  I  thought  the  last  day  had  come;  so 
I  reined  in  for  a  moment,  while  a  shower  of  hail  began  to  fall 
without  a  drop  of  water.  At  first  the  hail  was  somewhat 
larger  than  pellets  from  a  popgun,  and  when  these  struck  me, 
they  hurt  considerably.  Little  by  little  it  increased  in  size, 
until  the  stones  might  be  compared  to  balls  from  a  cross-bow. 
My  horse  became  restive  with  fright;  so  I  wheeled  round, 
and  returned  at  a  gallop  to  where  I  found  my  comrades  taking 
refuge  in  a  fir-wood.  The  hail  now  grew  to  the  size  of  big 
lemons.  I  began  to  sing  a  Miserere;  and  while  I  was  de- 
voutly uttering  this  psalm  to  God,  there  fell  a  stone  so  huge 
that  it  smashed  the  thick  branch  of  the  pine  under  which  I 
had  retired^  for  safety.  Another  of  the  hailstones  hit  my 
horse  upon  the  head,  and  almost  stunned  him;  one  struck 
me  also,  but  not  directly,  else  it  would  have  killed  me.  In 
like  manner,  poor  old  Lionardo  Tedaldi,  who  like  me  was 
kneeling  on  the  ground,  received  so  shrewd  a  blow  that  he 
fell  grovelling  upon  all  fours.  When  I  saw  that  the  fir  bough 
offered  no  protection,  and  that  I  ought  to  act  as  well  as  to 
intone  my  Misereres,  I  began  at  once  to  wrap  my  mantle 
round  my  head.  At  the  same  time  I  cried  to  Lionardo,  who 
was  shrieking  for  succour,  "  Jesus!  Jesus!  "  that  Jesus  would 
help  him  if  he  helped  himself.  I  had  more  trouble  in  looking 
after  this  man's  safety  than  my  own.  The  storm  raged  for 
some  while,  but  at  last  it  stopped;  and  we,  who  were  pounded 
black  and  blue,  scrambled  as  well  as  we  could  upon  our 
horses.  Pursuing  the  way  to  our  lodging  for  the  night,  we 
showed  our  scratches  and  bruises  to  each  other;  but  about 
a  mile  farther  on  we  came  upon  a  scene  of  devastation  which 
surpassed  what  we  had  suffered,  and  defies  description.  All 
the  trees  were  stripped  of  their  leaves  and  shattered;  the 
beasts  in  the  field  lay  dead;  many  of  the  herdsmen  had  also 
been  killed;  we  observed  large  quantities  of  hailstones  which 
could  not  have  been  grasped  with  two  hands.  Feeling  then 
that  we  had  come  well  out  of  a  great  peril,  we  acknowledged 
that  our  prayers  to  God  and  Misereres  had  helped  us  more 
than  we  could  have  helped  ourselves.     Returning  thanks  to 


MEMOIRS 


323 


God,  therefore,  we  entered  Lyons  in  the  course  of  the  next 
day,  and  tarried  there  eight  days.  At  the  end  of  this  time, 
being  refreshed  in  strength  and  spirits,  we  resumed  our  jour- 
ney, and  passed  the  mountains  without  mishap.  On  the 
other  side  I  bought  a  httle  pony,  because  the  baggage  which 
I  carried  had  somewhat  overtired  my  horses. 

LI 

After  we  had  been  one  day  in  Italy,  the  Count  Galeotto 
della  Mirandola  joined  us.  He  was  travelhng  by  post;  and 
stopping  where  we  were,  he  told  me  that  I  had  done  wrong 
to  leave  France;  I  ought  not  to  journey  forward,  for,  if  I  re- 
turned at  once,  my  affairs  would  be  more  prosperous  than 
ever.  On  the  other  hand,  if  I  persisted  in  my  course,  I  was 
giving  the  game  up  to  my  enemies,  and  furnishing  them  with 
opportunities  to  do  me  mischief.  By  returning  I  might  put 
a  stop  to  their  intrigues;  and  those  in  whom  I  placed  the 
most  confidence  were  just  the  men  who  played  most  traitor- 
ously. He  would  not  say  more  than  that  he  knew  very  well 
all  about  it;  and,  indeed,  the  Cardinal  of  Ferrara  had  now 
conspired  with  the  two  rogues  I  left  in  charge  of  all  my  busi- 
ness. Having  repeated  over  and  over  again  that  I  ought 
absolutely  to  turn  back,  he  went  onward  with  the  post,  while 
I,  being  influenced  by  my  companions,  could  not  make  my 
mind  up  to  return.  My  heart  was  sorely  torn  asunder,  at  one 
moment  by  the  desire  to  reach  Florence  as  quickly  as  I  could, 
and  at  another  by  the  conviction  that  I  ought  to  regain 
France.  At  last,  in  order  to  end  the  fever  of  this  irresolution, 
I  determined  to  take  the  post  for  Florence.  I  could  not  make 
arrangements  with  the  first  postmaster,  but  persisted  in  my 
purpose  to  press  forward,  and  endure  an  anxious  life  at 
Florence. 

I  parted  company  with  Signor  Ippolito  Gonzaga,  who  took 
the  route  for  Mirandola,  while  I  diverged  upon  the  road  to 
Parma  and  Piacenza.  In  the  latter  city  I  met  Duke  Pier 
Luigi  upon  the  street,  who  stared  me  in  the  face,  and  recog- 
nised me.^    Since  I  knew  him  to  have  been  the  sole  cause  of 

*  Pier  Luigi  Farnese  was  not  formally  invested  with  the  Duchy  of 
Parma  and  Piacenza  until  September,  1545.  Cellini,  therefore,  gives  him 
this  title  as  Duke  of  Castro.  He  was  assassinated  on  September  10,  1547. 
The  Landi,  among  other  noblemen  of  the  duchy,  took   part  in  a  con- 


324 


CELLINI 


my  imprisonment  in  the  castle  of  S,  Angelo,  the  sight  of  him 
made  my  blood  boil.  Yet  being  unable  to  escape  from  the 
man,  I  decided  to  pay  him  my  respects,  and  arrived  just  after 
he  had  risen  from  table  in  the  company  of  the  Landi,  who 
afterward  murdered  him.  On  my  appearance,  he  received 
me  with  unbounded  marks  of  esteem  and  affection,  among 
which  he  took  occasion  to  remark  to  the  gentlemen  present 
that  I  was  the  first  artist  of  the  world  in  my  own  line,  and 
that  I  had  been  for  a  long  while  in  prison  at  Rome,  Then 
he  turned  to  me  and  said:  "  My  Benvenuto,  I  was  deeply 
grieved  for  your  misfortune,  and  knew  well  that  you  were 
innocent,  but  could  not  do  anything  to  help  you.  In  short, 
it  was  my  father,  who  chose  to  gratify  some  enemies  of  yours, 
from  whom,  moreover,  he  heard  that  you  had  spoken  ill  of 
him.  I  am  convinced  this  was  not  true,  and  indeed  I  was 
heartily  sorry  for  your  troubles."  These  words  he  kept 
piling  up  and  repeating  until  he  seemed  to  be  begging  my 
pardon.  Afterward  he  inquired  about  the  work  I  had  been 
doing  for  his  Most  Christian  Majesty;  and  on  my  furnish- 
ing him  with  details,  he  listened  as  attentively  and  graciously 
as  possible.  Then  he  asked  if  I  had  a  mind  to  serve  him.  To 
this  I  replied  that  my  honour  would  not  allow  me  to  do  so; 
but  that  if  I  had  completed  those  extensive  works  begun  for 
the  King,  I  should  be  disposed  to  quit  any  great  prince  merely 
to  enter  his  Excellency's  service. 

Hereby  it  may  be  seen  how  the  power  and  goodness  of 
God  never  leave  unpunished  any  sort  or  quality  of  men  who 
act  unjustly  toward  the  innocent.  This  man  did  what  was 
equivalent  to  begging  my  pardon  in  the  presence  of  those 
very  persons  who  subsequently  took  revenge  on  him  for  me 
and  many  others  whom  he  had  massacred.  Let  then  no 
prince,  however  great  he  be,  laugh  at  God's  justice,  in  the  way 
that  many  whom  I  know  are  doing,  and  who  have  cruelly 
maltreated  me,  as  I  shall  relate  at  the  proper  time.  I  do  not 
write  these  things  in  any  worldly  spirit  of  boasting,  but  only 
to  return  thanks  to  God,  my  deliverer  in  so  many  trials.  In 
those  too  which  daily  assail  me,  I  always  carry  my  com- 
plaint to  Him,  and  call  on  Him  to  be  my  defender.  On  all 
occasions,  after  I  have  done  my  best  to  aid  myself,  if  I  lose 

spiracy  which  had  its  ground  in  Pier  Luigi's  political  errors  no  less  than 
in  his  intolerable  misgovernment  and  infamous  private  life. 


MEMOIRS 


325 


courage  and  my  feeble  forces  fail,  then  is  the  great  might 
of  God  manifested,  which  descends  unexpectedly  on  those  who 
wrongfully  injure  their  neighbours,  or  neglect  the  grave  and 
honourable  charge  they  have  received  from  Him. 

LII 

When  I  returned  to  my  inn,  I  found  that  the  Duke  had 
sent  me  abundance  to  eat  and  drink  of  very  excellent  quality. 
I  made  a  hearty  meal,  then  mounted  and  rode  toward  Flor- 
ence. There  I  found  my  sister  with  six  daughters,  the  eldest 
of  whom  was  marriageable  and  the  youngest  still  at  nurse. 
Her  husband,  by  reason  of  divers  circumstances  in  the  city, 
had  lost  employment  from  his  trade.  I  had  sent  gems  and 
French  jewellery,  more  than  a  year  earlier,  to  the  amount  of 
about  two  thousand  ducats,  and  now  brought  with  me  the 
same  wares  to  the  value  of  about  one  thousand  crowns.  I 
discovered  that,  whereas  I  made  them  an  allowance  of  four 
golden  crowns  a  month,  they  always  drew  considerable  sums 
from  the  current  sale  of  these  articles.  My  brother-in-law 
was  such  an  honest  fellow,  that,  fearing  to  give  me  cause  for 
anger,  he  had  pawned  nearly  everything  he  possessed,  and 
was  devoured  by  interest,  in  his  anxiety  to  leave  my  monies 
untouched.  It  seems  that  my  allowance,  made  by  way  of 
charity,  did  not  sufifice  for  the  needs  of  the  family.  When 
then  I  found  him  so  honest  in  his  dealings,  I  felt  inclined  to 
raise  his  pension;  and  it  was  my  intention,  before  leaving 
Florence,  to  make  some  arrangement  for  all  of  his  daughters. 

LIII 

The  Duke  of  Florence  at  this  time,  which  was  the  month 
of  August,  1545,  had  retired  to  Poggio  a  Cajano,  ten  miles 
distant  from  Florence.  Thither  then  I  went  to  pay  him  my 
respects,  with  the  sole  object  of  acting  as  duty  required,  first 
because  I  was  a  Florentine,  and  next  because  my  forefathers 
had  always  been  adherents  of  the  Medicean  party,  and  I 
yielded  to  none  of  them  in  affection  for  this  Duke  Cosimo. 
As  I  have  said,  then,  I  rode  to  Poggio  with  the  sole  object 
of  paying  my  respects,  and  with  no  intention  of  accepting 
service  under  him,  as  God,  who  does  all  things  well,  did  then 
appoint  for  me. 

When    I    was    introduced,    the    Duke    received    me   very 


326 


CELLINI 


kindly;  then  he  and  the  Duchess  put  questions  concerning 
the  works  which  I  had  executed  for  the  King.^  I  answered 
wiUingly  and  in  detail.  After  listening  to  my  story,  he  an- 
sw-ered  that  he  had  heard  as  much,  and  that  I  spoke  the  truth. 
Then  he  assumed  a  tone  of  sympathy,  and  added:  "  How 
small  a  recompense  for  such  great  and  noble  masterpieces! 
Friend  Benvenuto,  if  you  feel  inclined  to  execute  something 
for  me  too,  I  am  ready  to  pay  you  far  better  than  that  King 
of  yours  has  done,  for  whom  your  excellent  nature  prompts 
you  to  speak  so  gratefully."  When  I  understood  his  drift, 
I  described  the  deep  obligations  under  which  I  lay  to  his 
Majesty,  who  first  obtained  my  liberation  from  that  iniquitous 
prison,  and  afterward  supplied  me  with  the  means  of  carrying 
out  more  admirable  works  than  any  artist  of  my  quality  had 
ever  had  the  chance  to  do.  While  I  was  thus  speaking,  my 
lord  the  Duke  writhed  on  his  chair,  and  seemed  as  though 
he  could  not  bear  to  hear  me  to  the  end.  Then,  when  I  had 
concluded,  he  rejoined:  "  If  you  are  disposed  to  work  for  me, 
I  will  treat  you  in  a  way  that  will  astonish  you,  provided  the 
fruits  of  your  labours  give  me  satisfaction,  of  which  I  have 
no  doubt."  I,  poor  unhappy  mortal,  burning  with  desire  to 
show  the  noble  school  ^  of  Florence  that,  after  leaving  her  in 
youth,  I  had  practised  other  branches  of  the  art  than  she 
imagined,  gave  answer  to  the  Duke  that  I  would  willingly 
erect  for  him  in  marble  or  in  bronze  a  mighty  statue  on  his 
fine  piazza.  He  replied  that,  for  a  first  essay,  he  should  like 
me  to  produce  a  Perseus;  he  had  long  set  his  heart  on  hav- 
ing such  a  monument,  and  he  begged  me  to  begin  a  model 
for  the  same.^  I  very  gladly  set  myself  to  the  task,  and  in  a 
few  weeks  I  finished  my  model,  which  was  about  a  cubit  high, 
in  yellow  wax  and  very  delicately  finished  in  all  its  details. 
I  had  made  it  w'ith  the  most  thorough  study  and  art.* 

'  This  Duchess  was  Eleonora  di  Toledo,  well  known  through  Bronzino's 
portrait. 

'  This  school  was  the  Collegio  dei  Maestri  di  Belle  Arti  in  Florence, 
who  had  hitherto  known  of  Cellini  mainly  as  a  goldsmith. 

*  Cosimo  chose  the  subject  of  Perseus  because  it  symbolized  his  own 
victory  over  the  Gorgon  of  tyrannicide  and  Republican  partisanship. 
Donatello's  Judith,  symbolizing  justifiable  regicide,  and  Michel  Angelo's 
David,  symbolizing  the  might  of  innocent  right  against  an  overbearing 
usurper,  already  decorated  the  Florentine  piazza.  Until  lately,  both  < 
these  masterpieces  stood  together  there  with  the  Perseus  of  Cellini.  1 

*  This  is  probably  the  precious  model  now  existing  in  the  Bargel 


MEMOIRS 


327 


The  Duke  returned  to  Florence,  but  several  days  passed 
before  I  had  an  opportunity  of  showing  my  model.  It 
seemed  indeed  as  though  he  had  never  set  eyes  on  me  or 
spoken  with  me,  and  this  caused  me  to  augur  ill  of  my  future 
dealings  with  his  Excellency.  Later,  however,  one  day  after 
dinner,  I  took  it  to  his  wardrobe,  where  he  came  to  inspect 
it  with  the  Duchess  and  a  few  gentlemen  of  the  court.  No 
sooner  had  he  seen  it  than  he  expressed  much  pleasure,  and 
extolled  it  to  the  skies;  whereupon  I  gathered  some  hope 
that  he  might  really  be  a  connoisseur  of  art.  After  having 
wqW  considered  it  for  some  time,  always  with  greater  satis- 
faction, he  began  as  follows:  "  If  you  could  only  execute  this 
little  model,  Benvenuto,  with  the  same  perfection  on  a  large 
scale,  it  would  be  the  finest  piece  in  the  piazza."  I  replied: 
"  Most  excellent  my  lord,  upon  the  piazza  are  now  standing 
works  by  the  great  Donatello  and  the  incomparable  Michel 
Angelo,  the  two  greatest  men  who  have  ever  lived  since  the 
days  of  the  ancients.  But  since  your  Excellency  encourages 
my  model  with  such  praise,  I  feel  the  heart  to  execute  it  at 
least  thrice  as  well  in  bronze."  No  slight  dispute  arose  upon 
this  declaration;  the  Duke  protesting  that  he  understood 
these  matters  perfectly,  and  was  quite  aware  what  could  be 
done.  I  rejoined  that  my  achievements  would  resolve  his 
dubitations  and  debates;  I  was  absolutely  sure  of  being  able 
to  perform  far  more  than  I  had  promised  for  his  Excellency, 
but  that  he  must  give  me  means  for  carrying  my  work  out, 
else  I  could  not  fulfil  my  undertaking.  In  return  for  this 
his  Excellency  bade  me  formulate  my  demands  in  a  petition, 
detailing  all  my  requirements;  he  would  see  them  liberally 
attended  to. 

It  is  certain  that  if  I  had  been  cunning  enough  to  secure 
by  contract  all  I  wanted  for  my  work,  I  should  not  have  in- 
curred the  great  troubles  which  came  upon  me  through  my 
own  fault.  But  he  showed  the  strongest  desire  to  have  the 
work  done,  and  the  most  perfect  willingness  to  arrange  pre- 
liminaries. I  therefore,  not  discerning  that  he  was  more  a 
merchant  than  a  duke,  dealt  very  frankly  with  his  Excellency, 
just  as  if  I  had  to  do  with  a  prince,  and  not  with  a  commercial 
man.    I  sent  in  my  petition,  to  which  he  replied  in  large  and 

-'alace  at  Florence,  in  many  points  more  interesting  than  the  completed 
ronre  statue  under  the  Loggia  de'  Lanzi. 


328 


CELLINI 


ample  terms.  The  memorandum  ran  as  follows :  "  Most  rare 
and  excellent  my  patron,  petitions  of  any  validity  and  com- 
pacts between  us  of  any  value  do  not  rest  upon  words  or 
writings;  the  whole  point  is  that  I  should  succeed  in  my  work 
according  to  my  promise;  and  if  I  so  succeed,  I  feel  con- 
vinced that  your  most  illustrious  Excellency  will  very  well 
remember  what  you  have  engaged  to  do  for  me."  This  lan- 
guage so  charmed  the  Duke  both  with  my  ways  of  acting 
and  of  speaking  that  he  and  the  Duchess  began  to  treat  me 
with  extraordinary  marks  of  favour. 

LIV 

Being  now  inflamed  with  a  great  desire  to  begin  work- 
ing, I  told  his  Excellency  that  I  had  need  of  a  house  where 
I  could  install  myself  and  erect  furnaces,  in  order  to  com- 
mence operations  in  clay  and  bronze,  and  also,  according  to 
their  separate  requirements,  in  gold  and  silver.  I  knew  that 
he  was  well  aware  how  thoroughly  I  could  serve  him  in 
those  several  branches,  and  I  required  some  dwelling  fitted 
for  my  business.  In  order  that  his  Excellency  might  per- 
ceive how  earnestly  I  wished  to  work  for  him,  I  had  already 
chosen  a  convenient  house,  in  a  quarter  much  to  my  liking.^ 
As  I  did  not  want  to  trench  upon  his  Excellency  for  money 
or  anything  of  that  sort,  I  had  brought  with  me  from  France 
two  jewels,  with  which  I  begged  him  to  purchase  me  the 
house,  and  to  keep  them  until  I  earned  it  with  my  labour. 
These  jewels  were  excellently  executed  by  my  workmen,  after 
my  own  designs.  When  he  had  inspected  them  with  minute 
attention,  he  uttered  these  spirited  words,  which  clothed  my 
soul  with  a  false  hope:  "Take  back  your  jewels,  Benvenuto! 
I  want  you,  and  not  them;  you  shall  have  your  house  free 
of  charges."  After  this,  he  signed  a  rescript  underneath  the 
petition  I  had  drawn  up,  and  which  I  have  always  preserved 
among  my  papers.  The  rescript  ran  as  follows:  "Let  the  house 
be  seen  to,  and  who  is  the  vendor,  and  at  zvhat  price;  for  we  wish 
to  comply  with  Benvemifo's  request."  I  naturally  thought  that 
this  would  secure  me  in  possession  of  the  house;  being  over 
and  above  convinced  that  my  performances  must  far  exceed 
what  I  promised. 

'  This  house  is  in  the  Via  del  Rosaio,  entered  from  Via  della  Pergola, 

No.  6527. 


MEMOIRS  329 

His  Excellency  committed  the  execution  of  these  orders 
to  his  majordomo,  who  was  named  Ser  Pier  Francesco  Riccio. 
The  man  came  from  Prato,  and  had  been  the  Duke's  peda- 
gogue. I  talked,  then,  to  this  donkey,  and  described  my 
requirements,  for  t]jere  was  a  garden  adjoining  the  house,  on 
which  I  wanted  to  erect  a  workshop.  He  handed  the  matter 
over  to  a  paymaster,  dry  and  meagre,  who  bore  the  name  of 
Lattanzio  Gorini.  This  flimsy  little  fellow,  with  his  tiny 
spider's  hands  and  small  gnat's  voice,  moved  about  the  busi- 
ness at  a  snail's  pace;  yet  in  an  evil  hour  he  sent  me  stones, 
sand,  and  lime  enough  to  build  perhaps  a  pigeon-house  with 
careful  management.  When  I  saw  how  coldly  things  were 
going  forward,  I  began  to  feel  dismayed;  however,  I  said  to 
myself:  "Little  beginnings  sometimes  have  great  endings;" 
and  I  fostered  hope  in  my  heart  by  noticing  how  many  thou- 
sand ducats  had  recently  been  squandered  upon  ugly  pieces 
of  bad  sculpture  turned  out  by  that  beast  of  a  Buaccio  Bandi- 
nelli.^  So  I  rallied  my  spirits  and  kept  prodding  at  Lattanzio 
Gorini,  to  make  him  go  a  little  faster.  It  was  like  shouting 
to  a  pack  of  lame  donkeys  with  a  blind  dwarf  for  their  driver. 
Under  these  difficulties,  and  by  the  use  of  my  own  money, 
I  had  soon  marked  out  the  foundations  of  the  workshop  and 
cleared  the  ground  of  trees  and  vines,  labouring  on,  accord- 
ing to  my  wont,  with  fire,  and  perhaps  a  trifle  of  impatience. 

On  the  other  side,  I  was  in  the  hands  of  Tasso  the  car- 
penter, a  great  friend  of  mine,  who  had  received  my  instruc- 
tions for  making  a  wooden  framework  to  set  up  the  Perseus. 
This  Tasso  was  a  most  excellent  craftsman,  the  best,  I  believe, 
who  ever  lived  in  his  own  branch  of  art.  Personally,  he  was 
gay  and  merry  by  temperament;  and  whenever  I  went  to 
see  him,  he  met  me  laughing,  with  some  little  song  in  falsetto 
on  his  lips.  Half  in  despair  as  I  then  was,  news  coming  that 
my  affairs  in  France  were  going  wTong,  and  these  in  Flor- 
ence promising  but  ill  through  the  lukewarmness  of  my 
patron,  I  could  never  stop  listening  till  half  the  song  was 
finished;  and  so  in  the  end  I  used  to  cheer  up  a  little  with 
my  friend,  and  drove  away,  as  well  as  I  was  able,  some  few 
of  the  gloomy  thoughts  which  weighed  upon  me. 

'  Cellini  calls  this  man,  his  bitter  foe  and  rival,  Buaccio  or  the  great  ox, 
blockhead,  instead  of  Baccio,  which  is  shortened  for  Bartolommeo. 

22 


330 


CELLINI 


LV 


I  had  got  all  the  above-mentioned  things  in  order,  and 
was  making  vigorous  preparations  for  my  great  undertaking 
— indeed  a  portion  of  the  lime  had  been  already  used — when 
I  received  sudden  notice  to  appear  before  the  majordomo.  I 
found  him,  after  his  Excellency's  dinner,  in  the  hall  of  the 
clock/  On  entering,  I  paid  him  marked  respect,  and  he  re- 
ceived me  with  the  greatest  stiffness.  Then  he  asked  who 
had  installed  me  in  the  house,  and  by  whose  authority  I  had 
begun  to  build  there,  saying  he  marvelled  much  that  I  had 
been  so  headstrong  and  foolhardy.  I  answered  that  I  had 
been  installed  in  the  house  by  his  Excellency,  and  that  his 
lordship  himself,  in  the  name  of  his  Excellency,  had  given 
the  orders  to  Lattanzio  Gorini.  "  Lattanzio  brought  stone, 
sand,  and  lime,  and  provided  what  I  wanted,  saying  he  did 
so  at  your  lordship's  orders."  When  I  had  thus  spoken,  the 
brute  turned  upon  me  with  still  greater  tartness,  vowing  that 
neither  I  nor  any  of  those  whom  I  had  mentioned  spoke  the 
truth.  This  stung  me  to  the  quick,  and  I  exclaimed:  "O 
majordomo,  so  long  as  your  lordship  ^  chooses  to  use  lan- 
guage befitting  the  high  office  which  you  hold,  I  shall  revere 
you,  and  speak  to  you  as  respectfully  as  I  do  to  the  Duke;  if 
you  take  another  line  with  me,  I  shall  address  you  as  but  one 
Ser  Pier  Francesco  Riccio."  He  flew  into  such  a  rage  that 
I  thought  he  meant  to  go  mad  upon  the  spot,  anticipating  the 
time  ordained  by  Heaven  for  him  to  do  so.^  Pouring  forth  a 
torrent  of  abuse,  he  roared  out  that  he  was  surprised  at  him- 
self for  having  let  me  speak  at  all  to  a  man  of  his  quality. 
Thereupon  my  blood  was  up,  and  I  cried:  "  Mark  my  words, 
then,  Ser  Pier  Francesco  Riccio!  I  will  tell  you  what  sort 
of  men  are  my  equals,  and  who  are  yours — mere  teachers 
of  the  alphabet  to  children !  "  His  face  contracted  with  a 
spasm,  while  he  raised  his  voice  and  repeated  the  same  words 
in  a  still  more  insulting  tone.    I,  too,  assumed  an  air  of  men- 

'  One  of  the  rooms  in  the  Palazzo  Vecchio,  so  called  because  the  famous 
cosmographical  timepiece,  made  about  1484  for  Lorenzo  de'  Medici  by 
Lorenzo  della  Volpaia,  stood  there. 

'  It  was  the  custom  at  that  epoch  to  address  princes  by  the  title  of 
Signore  or  Vostra  Signoria  ;  gentlemen  had  the  title  of  Messer ;  simple 
Ser  was  given  to  plebeians  with  some  civil  or  ecclesiastical  dignity. 

'  Riccio  died  about  1559,  after  having  been  insane  several  years. 


MEMOIRS  331 

ace,  and  matching  his  own  arrogance  with  something  of  the 
same  sort,  told  him  plainly  that  men  of  my  kind  were  worthy 
to  converse  with  popes  and  emperors,  and  great  kings,  and 
that  perhaps  there  were  not  two  such  men  alive  upon  this 
earth,  while  ten  of  his  sort  might  be  met  at  every  doorway. 
On  hearing  these  words  he  jumped  upon  a  window-seat  in 
the  hall  there,  and  defied  me  to  repeat  what  I  had  said.  I 
did  so  with  still  greater  heat  and  spirit,  adding  I  had  no  farther 
mind  to  serve  the  Duke,  and  that  I  should  return  to  France, 
where  I  was  always  welcome.  The  brute  remained  there 
stupefied  and  pale  as  clay;  I  went  off  furious,  resolved  on 
leaving  Florence;  and  would  to  God  that  I  had  done  so! 

The  Duke  can  not,  I  think,  have  been  informed  at  onqe 
of  this  diabolical  scene,  for  I  waited  several  days  without 
hearing  from  him.  Giving  up  all  thoughts  of  Florence,  ex- 
cept what  concerned  the  settlement  of  my  sister's  and  nieces' 
affairs,  I  made  preparations  to  provide  for  them  as  well  as  I 
could  with  the  small  amount  of  money  I  had  brought,  and 
then  to  return  to  France  and  never  set  my  foot  in  Italy  again. 
This  being  my  firm  purpose,  I  had  no  intention  to  ask  leave 
of  the  Duke  or  anybody,  but  to  decamp  as  quickly  as  I  could; 
when  one  morning  the  majordomo,  of  his  own  accord,  sent 
very  humbly  to  entreat  my  presence,  and  opened  a  long  pe- 
dantic oration,  in  which  I  could  discover  neither  method,  nor 
elegance,  nor  meaning,  nor  head,  nor  tail.  I  only  gathered 
from  it  that  he  professed  himself  a  good  Christian,  wished 
to  bear  no  man  malice,  and  asked  me  in  the  Duke's  name 
what  salary  I  should  be  willing  to  accept.  Hearing  this,  I 
stood  a  while  on  guard,  and  made  no  answer,  being  firmly 
resolved  not  to  engage  myself.  When  he  saw  that  I  refused 
to  reply,  he  had  at  least  the  cleverness  to  put  in :  "  Benvenuto, 
dukes  expect  to  be  answered;  and  what  I  am  saying  to  you, 
I  am  saying  from  his  Excellency's  lips."  Then  I  rejoined  that 
if  the  message  came  from  his  Excellency,  I  would  gladly 
reply,  and  told  him  to  report  to  the  Duke  that  I  could  not 
accept  a  position  inferior  to  that  of  any  one  employed  by  him 
as  artist.  The  majordomo  answered:  "  BandinelH  receives 
two  hundred  crowns  a  year;  if  then  you  are  contented  with 
that,  your  salary  is  settled."  I  Agreed  upon  these  terms,  add- 
ing that  what  I  might  earn  in  addition  by  the  merit  of  my  per- 
formances, could  be  given  after  they  were  seen;  that  point 


332 


CELLINI 


I  left  entirely  to  the  good  judgment  of  his  Excellency.  Thus, 
then,  against  my  will,  I  pieced  the  broken  thread  again,  and 
set  to  work;  the  Duke  continually  treating  me  with  the  high- 
est imaginable  marks  of  favour. 

LVI 

I  received  frequent  letters  from  France,  written  by  my 
most  faithful  friend  Messer  Guido  Guidi.  As  yet  they  told 
nothing  but  good  news;  and  Ascanio  also  bade  me  enjoy 
myself  without  uneasiness,  since,  if  anything  happened,  he 
would  let  me  know  at  once. 

Now  the  King  was  informed  that  I  had  commenced  work- 
ing for  the  Duke  of  Florence,  and  being  the  best  man  in  the 
world,  he  often  asked:  "  Why  does  not  Benvenuto  come  back 
to  us?"  He  put  searching  questions  on  the  subject  to  my 
two  workmen,  both  of  whom  replied  that  I  kept  writing  I 
was  well  ofif  where  I  was,  adding  they  thought  I  did  not  want 
to  re-enter  the  service  of  his  Majesty.  Incensed  by  these 
presumptuous  words,  which  were  none  of  my  saying,  the 
King  exclaimed:  "  Since  he  left  us  without  any  cause,  I  shall 
not  recall  him;  let  him  e'en  stay  where  he  is."  Thus  the 
thievish  brigands  brought  matters  exactly  to  the  pass  they 
desired;  for  if  I  had  returned  to  France,  they  would  have 
become  mere  workmen  under  me  once  more,  whereas,  while 
I  remained  away,  they  were  their  own  masters  and  in  my 
place;  consequently,  they  did  everything  in  their  power  to 
prevent  my  coming  back. 

LVII 

While  the  workshop  for  executing  my  Perseus  was  in 
building,  I  used  to  work  in  a  ground-floor  room.  Here  I 
modelled  the  statue  in  plaster,  giving  it  the  same  dimensions 
as  the  bronze  was  meant  to  have,  and  intending  to  cast  it 
from  this  mould.  But  finding  that  it  would  take  rather  long 
to  carry  it  out  in  this  way,  I  resolved  upon  another  expedient, 
especially  as  now  a  wretched  little  studio  had  been  erected, 
brick  on  brick,  so  miserably  built  that  the  mere  recollection 
of  it  gives  me  pain.  So  then  I  began  the  figure  of  Medusa, 
and  constructed  the  skeleton  in  iron.  Afterward  I  put  on 
the  clay,  and  when  that  was  modelled,  baked  it. 

I  had  no  assistants  except  some  little  shopboys,  among 
whom  was  one  of  great  beauty.     I  made  use  of  the  lad  as  a 


MEMOIRS  333 

model,  for  the  only  books  which  teach  this  art  are  the  natural 
human  body.  Meanwhile,  as  I  could  not  do  everything  alone, 
I  looked  about  for  workmen  in  order  to  put  the  business 
quickly  through;  but  I  was  unable  to  find  any.  There  were 
indeed  some  in  Florence  who  would  willingly  have  come, 
but  Bandinello  prevented  them,  and  after  keeping  me  in  want 
of  aid  awhile,  told  the  Duke  that  I  was  trying  to  entice  his 
workpeople  because  I  was  quite  incapable  of  setting  up  so 
great  a  statue  by  myself.  I  complained  to  the  Duke  of  the 
annoyance  which  the  brute  gave  me,  and  begged  him  to  allow 
me  some  of  the  labourers  from  the  Opera.^  My  request  in- 
clined him  to  lend  ear  to  Bandinello's  calumnies;  and  when 
I  noticed  that,  I  set  about  to  do  my  utmost  by  myself  alone. 
The  labour  was  enormous:  I  had  to  strain  every  muscle 
night  and  day;  and  just  then  the  husband  of  my  sister  sick- 
ened, and  died  after  a  few  days'  illness.  He  left  my  sister, 
still  young,  with  six  girls  of  all  ages,  on  my  hands.  This 
was  the  first  great  trial  I  endured  in  Florence,  to  be  made 
the  father  and  guardian  of  such  a  distressed  family. 

LVIII 

In  my  anxiety  that  nothing  should  go  wrong,  I  sent  for 
two  hand-labourers  to  clear  my  garden  of  rubbish.  They 
came  from  Ponte  Vecchio,  the  one  an  old  man  of  sixty  years, 
the  other  a  young  fellow  of  eighteen.  After  being  employed 
about  three  days,  the  lad  told  me  that  the  old  man  would  not 
work,  and  that  I  had  better  send  him  away,  since,  beside 
being  idle,  he  prevented  his  comrade  from  working.  The 
little  I  had  to  do  there  could  be  done  by  himself,  without 
throwing  money  away  on  other  people.  The  youth  was  called 
Bernardino  Mannellini,  of  Mugello.  When  I  saw  that  he  was 
so  inclined  to  labour,  I  asked  whether  he  would  enter  my 
service,  and  we  agreed  upon  the  spot.  He  groomed  my  horse, 
gardened,  and  soon  essayed  to  help  me  in  the  workshop,  with 
such  success  that  by  degrees  he  learned  the  art  quite  nicely. 
I  never  had  a  better  assistant  than  he  proved.  Having  made 
up  my  mind  to  accomplish  the  whole  affair  with  this  man's 
aid,  I  now  let  the  Duke  know  that  Bandinello  was  lying,  and 
that  I  could  get  on  famously  without  his  workpeople. 

•  That  is,  the  Opera  del  Duomo,  or  permanent  establishment  for  at- 
tending to  the  fabric  of  the  Florentine  Cathedral. 


334  CELLINI 

Just  at  this  time  I  suffered  slightly  in  the  loins,  and  being 
unable  to  work  hard,  I  was  glad  to  pass  my  time  in  the  Duke's 
w'ardrobe  with  a  couple  of  young  goldsmiths  called  Gian- 
pagolo  and  Domenico  Poggini,^  who  made  a  little  golden 
cup  under  my  direction.  It  was  chased  in  bas-relief  with 
figures  and  other  pretty  ornaments,  and  his  Excellency  meant 
it  for  the  Duchess  to  drink  water  out  of.  He  furthermore 
commissioned  me  to  execute  a  golden  belt,  which  I  enriched 
with  gems  and  delicate  masks  and  other  fancies.  The  Duke 
came  frequently  into  the  wardrobe,  and  took  great  pleasure 
in  watching  me  at  work  and  talking  to  me.  When  my  health 
improved,  I  had  clay  brought,  and  took  a  portrait  of  his  Ex- 
cellency, considerably  larger  than  life-size,  which  I  modelled 
while  he  stayed  with  me  for  pastime.  He  was  highly  de- 
lighted with  this  piece,  and  conceived  such  a  liking  for  me 
that  he  earnestly  begged  me  to  take  up  my  working  quarters 
,in  the  palace,  selecting  rooms  large  enough  for  my  purpose, 
and  fitting  them  up  with  furnaces  and  all  I  wanted,  for  he 
greatly  enjoyed  watching  the  processes  of  art.  I  replied  that 
this  was  impossible;  I  should  not  have  finished  my  under- 
takings in  a  hundred  years. 

LIX 

The  Duchess  also  treated  me  with  extraordinary  gracious- 
ness,  and  would  have  been  pleased  if  I  had  worked  for  her 
alone,  forgetting  Perseus  and  everything  besides.  I  for  my 
part,  while  these  vain  favours  were  being  showered  upon  me, 
knew  only  too  well  that  my  perverse  and  biting  fortune  could 
not  long  delay  to  send  me  some  fresh  calamity,  because  I  kept 
ever  before  my  eyes  the  great  mistake  I  had  committed  while 
seeking  to  do  a  good  action.  I  refer  to  my  affairs  in  France. 
The  King  could  not  swallow  the  displeasure  he  felt  at  my 
departure;  and  yet  he  wanted  me  to  return,  if  only  this  could 
be  brought  about  without  concessions  on  his  part.  I  thought 
that  I  was  entirely  in  the  right,  and  would  not  bend  sub- 
missively, because  I  judged  that  if  I  wrote  in  humble  terms, 
those  enemies  of  mine  would  say  in  their  French  fashion  that 
I  had  confessed  myself  to  blame,  and  that  certain  misdoings 
with   which   they   wrongfully   taxed    me   were   proved   true. 

'  These  two  brothers  were  specially  eminent  as  die-casters.    Gianpagolo 
went  to  Spain,  and  served  Philip  II. 


MEMOIRS  335 

Therefore  I  stood  upon  my  honour,  and  wrote  in  terms  of 
haughty  coldness,  which  was  precisely  what  those  two  traitors, 
my  apprentices,  most  heartily  desired.  In  my  letters  to  them 
I  boasted  of  the  distinguished  kindness  shown  me  in  my  own 
birthplace  by  a  prince  and  princess  the  absolute  masters  of 
Florence.  Whenever  they  received  one  of  these  despatches, 
they  went  to  the  King,  and  besieged  his  Majesty  with  en- 
treaties for  the  castle  upon  the  same  terms  as  he  had  granted 
it  to  me.  The  King,  who  was  a  man  of  great  goodness  and 
perspicacity,  would  never  consent  to  the  presumptuous  de- 
mands of  those  scoundrels,  since  he  scented  the  malignity  of 
their  aims.  Yet,  wishing  to  keep  them  in  expectation,  and 
to  give  me  the  opportunity  of  coming  back,  he  caused  an 
angry  letter  to  be  written  to  me  by  his  treasurer,  Messer 
Giuliano  Buonaccorsi,  a  burgher  of  Florence.  The  substance 
was  as  follows:  If  I  wanted  to  preserve  the  reputation  for 
honesty  which  I  had  hitherto  enjoyed,  it  was  my  plain  duty, 
after  leaving  France  with  no  cause  whatsoever,  to  render  an 
account  of  all  that  I  had  done  and  dealt  with  for  his  Majesty. 
The  receipt  of  this  letter  gave  me  such  pleasure  that,  if  I 
had  consulted  my  own  palate,  I  could  not  have  wished  for 
either  more  or  less.  I  sat  down  to  write  an  answer,  and  filled 
nine  pages  of  ordinary  paper.  In  this  document  I  described 
in  detail  all  the  works  which  I  had  executed,  and  all  the  ad- 
ventures I  had  gone  through  while  performing  them,  and  all 
the  sums  which  had  been  spent  upon  them.  The  payments 
had  always  been  made  through  two  notaries  and  one  of  his 
Majesty's  treasurers;  and  I  could  show  receipts  from  all  the 
men  into  whose  hands  they  passed,  whether  for  goods  sup- 
plied or  labour  rendered.  I  had  not  pocketed  one  penny  of 
the  money,  nor  had  I  received  any  reward  for  my  completed 
works.  I  brought  back  with  me  into  Italy  nothing  but  some 
marks  of  favour  and  most  royal  promises,  truly  worthy  of 
his  Majesty.  "  Now,  though  I  can  not  vaunt  myself  of  any 
recompense  beyond  the  salaries  appointed  for  my  mainte- 
nance in  France,  seven  hundred  golden  crowns  of  which  are 
still  due,  inasmuch  as  I  abstained  from  drawing  them  until 
I  could  employ  them  on  my  return  journey;  yet  knowing 
that  malicious  foes  out  of  their  envious  hearts  have  played 
some  knavish  trick  against  me,  I  feel  confident  that  truth  will 
prevail-     I  take  pride  in  his  Most  Christian  Majesty,  and  am 


336  CELLINI 

not  moved  by  avarice.  I  am  indeed  aware  of  having  per- 
formed for  him  far  more  than  I  undertook;  and  albeit  the 
promised  reward  has  not  been  given  me,  my  one  anxiety  is 
to  remain  in  his  Majesty's  opinion  that  man  of  probity  and 
honour  which  I  have  always  been.  If  your  Majesty  enter- 
tains the  least  doubt  upon  this  point,  I  will  fly  to  render  an 
account  of  my  conduct,  at  the  risk  even  of  my  life.  But 
noticing  in  what  slight  esteem  I  am  held,  I  have  had  no  mind 
to  come  back  and  make  an  ofifer  of  myself,  knowing  that  I 
shall  never  lack  for  bread  whithersoever  I  may  go.  If,  how- 
ever, I  am  called  for,  I  will  always  answer."  The  letter  con- 
tained many  further  particulars  worthy  of  the  King's  atten- 
tion, and  proper  to  the  preservation  of  my  honour.  Before 
despatching  it,  I  took  it  to  the  Duke,  who  read  it  with  inter- 
est; then  I  sent  it  into  France,  addressed  to  the  Cardinal  of 

Ferrara. 

LX 

About  this  time  Bernardone  Baldini,  broker  in  jewels  to 
the  Duke,  brought  a  big  diamond  from  Venice,  which  weighed 
more  than  thirty-five  carats.  Antonio,  son  of  Vittorio  Landi, 
was  also  interested  in  getting  the  Duke  to  purchase  it.^  The 
Btone  had  been  cut  with  a  point;  but  since  it  did  not  yield 
the  purity  of  lustre  which  one  expects  in  such  a  diamond, 
its  owners  had  cropped  the  point,  and,  in  truth,  it  was  not 
exactly  fit  for  either  point  or  table  cutting.  Our  Duke,  who 
greatly  delighted  in  gems,  though  he  was  not  a  sound  judge 
of  them,  held  out  good  hopes  to  the  rogue  Bernardaccio  that 
he  would  buy  this  stone;  and  the  fellow,  wanting  to  secure 
for  himself  alone  the  honour  of  palming  it  off  upon  the  Duke 
of  Florence,  abstained  from  taking  his  partner  Antonio  Landi 
into  the  secret.  Now  Landi  had  been  my  intimate  friend 
from  childhood,  and  when  he  saw  that  I  enjoyed  the  Duke's 
confidence,  he  called  me  aside  (it  was  just  before  noon,  at 
a  corner  of  the  Mercato  Nuovo),  and  spoke  as  follows:  "  Ben- 
venuto,  I  am  convinced  that  the  Duke  will  show  you  a  dia- 
mond, which  he  seems  disposed  to  buy;  you  will  find  it  a  big 
stone.  Pray  assist  the  purchase;  I  can  give  it  for  seventeen 
thousand  crowns.  I  feel  sure  he  will  ask  your  advice;  and 
if  you  see  that  he  has  a  mind  for  it,  we  will  contrive  that  he 
secures  it."  Antonio  professed  great  confidence  in  being  able 
•  Antonio  Landi  was  a  Florentine  gentleman,  merchant,  and  author. 


MEMOIRS  337 

to  complete  the  bargain  for  the  jewel  at  that  price.  In  reply, 
I  told  him  that  if  my  advice  was  taken,  I  would  speak  accord- 
ing to  my  judgment,  without  prejudice  to  the  diamond. 

As  I  have  above  related,  the  Duke  came  daily  into  our 
goldsmith's  workshop  for  several  hours;  and  about  a  week 
after  this  conversation  with  Antonio  Landi  he  showed  me 
one  day  after  dinner  the  diamond  in  question,  which  I  im- 
mediately recognised  by  its  description,  both  as  to  form  and 
weight.  I  have  already  said  that  its  water  was  not  quite 
transparent,  for  which  reason  it  had  been  cropped;  so,  when 
I  found  it  of  that  kind  and  quality,  I  felt  certainly  disinclined 
to  recommend  its  acquisition.  However,  I  asked  his  Ex- 
cellency what  he  wanted  me  to  say;  because  it  was  one  thing 
for  jewellers  to  value  a  stone  after  a  prince  had  bought  it, 
and  another  thing  to  estimate  it  with  a  view  to  purchase.  He 
replied  that  he  had  bought  it,  and  that  he  only  wanted  my 
opinion.  I  did  not  choose  to  abstain  from  hinting  what  I 
really  thought  about  the  stone.  Then  he  told  me  to  observe 
the  beauty  of  its  great  facets.  I  answered  that  this  feature 
of  the  diamond  was  not  so  great  a  beauty  as  his  Excellency 
supposed,  but  came  from  the  point  having  been  cropped.  At 
these  words  my  prince,  who  perceived  that  I  was  speaking 
the  truth,  made  a  wry  face,  and  bade  me  give  good  heed  to 
valuing  the  stone,  and  saying  what  I  thought  it  worth.  I 
reckoned  that,  since  Landi  had  offered  it  to  me  for  17,000 
crowns,  the  Duke  might  have  got  it  for  15,000  at  the  high- 
est; so,  noticing  that  he  would  take  it  ill  if  I  spoke  the  truth, 
I  made  my  mind  up  to  uphold  him  in  his  false  opinion,  and 
handing  back  the  diamond,  said:  "You  will  probably  have 
paid  18,000  crowns."  On  hearing  this  the  Duke  uttered  a 
loud  "  Oh!  "  opening  his  mouth  as  wide  as  a  well,  and  cried 
out:  "  Now  am  I  convinced  that  you  understand  nothing 
about  the  matter."  I  retorted:  "You  are  certainly  in  the 
wrong  there,  my  lord.  Do  you  attend  to  maintaining  the 
credit  of  your  diamond,  while  I  attend  to  understanding  my 
trade.  But  pray  tell  me  at  least  how  much  you  paid,  in  order 
that  I  may  learn  to  understand  it  according  to  the  way  of 
your  Excellency."  The  Duke  rose,  and,  with  a  little  sort  of 
^"g^y  gi'in,  replied :  "  Twenty-five  thousand  crowns  and  more, 
Benvenuto,  did  that  stone  cost  me!" 

Having   thus   spoken,   he   departed.      Giovanpagolo   and 


338  CELLINI 

Domenico  Poggini,  the  goldsmiths,  were  present;  and  Bachi- 
acca,  the  embroiderer,  who  was  working  in  an  adjacent  room, 
ran  up  at  the  noise.^  I  told  them  that  I  should  never  have 
advised  the  Duke  to  purchase  it;  but  if  his  heart  was  set  on 
having  it,  Antonio  Landi  had  offered  me  the  stone  eight  days 
ago  for  17,000  crowns.  I  think  I  could  have  got  it  for  15,000 
or  less.  But  the  Duke  apparently  wishes  to  maintain  his  gem 
in  credit;  for  when  Antonio  Landi  was  willing  to  let  it  go  at 
that  price,  how  the  devil  can  Bernardone  have  played  off  such 
a  shameful  trick  upon  his  Excellency?  Never  imagining  that 
the  matter  stood  precisely  as  the  Duke  averred,  we  laugh- 
ingly made  light  of  his  supposed  credulity. 

LXI 

Meanwhile  I  was  advancing  with  my  great  statue  of 
Medusa.  I  had  covered  the  iron  skeleton  with  clay,  which  I 
modelled  like  an  anatomical  subject,  and  about  half  an  inch 
thinner  than  the  bronze  would  be.  This  I  baked  well,  and 
then  began  to  spread  on  the  wax  surface,  in  order  to  complete 
the  figure  to  my  liking.  The  Duke,  who  often  came  to  in- 
spect it,  was  so  anxious  lest  I  should  not  succeed  with  the 
bronze,  that  he  wanted  me  to  call  in  some  master  to  cast  it 
for  me. 

He  was  continually  talking  in  the  highest  terms  of  my 
acquirements  and  accomplishments.  This  made  his  major- 
domo  no  less  continually  eager  to  devise  some  trap  for  mak- 
ing me  break  my  neck.  Now  his  post  at  court  gave  him 
authority  with  the  chief-constables  and  all  the  offices  in  the 
poor  unhappy  town  of  Florence.  Only  to  think  that  a  fellow 
from  Prato,  our  hereditary  foeman,  the  son  of  a  cooper,  and 
the  most  ignorant  creature  in  existence,  should  have  risen  to 
such  a  station  of  influence,  merely  because  he  had  been  the 
rotten  tutor  of  Cosimo  de'  Medici  before  he  became  Duke! 
Well,  as  I  have  said,  he  kept  ever  on  the  watch  to  serve  me 
some  ill  turn;  and  finding  that  he  could  not  catch  me  out  on 
any  side,  he  fell  at  last  upon  this  plan,  which  meant  mischief. 
He  betook  himself  to  Gambetta,  the  mother  of  my  apprentice 
Cencio;  and  this  precious  pair  together — that  knave  of  a 
pedant  and  that  rogue  of  a  strumpet — invented  a  scheme  for 

'  Antonio  Ubertini,  called  II  Bachiacca,  a  brother  of  Cellini's  friend  in 
Kome.     He  enjoyed  a  great  reputation  for  mastery  of  embroidery. 


MEMOIRS  339 

giving  me  such  a  fright  as  would  make  me  leave  Florence  in 
hot  haste.  Gambetta  went  out,  acting  under  the  orders  of  that 
mad,  knavish  pedant,  the  majordomo — I  must  add  that  they 
had  also  gained  over  the  Bargello,  a  Bolognese,  whom  the 
Duke  afterward  dismissed  for  similar  conspiracies.  Well, 
one  Saturday  evening,  after  sunset,  Gambetta  came  to  my 
house  with  her  son,  and  told  me  she  had  kept  him  several 
days  indoors  for  my  welfare.  I  answered  that  there  was  no 
reason  to  keep  him  shut  up  on  my  account.  Then  she  begged 
me  to  keep  the  lad  hidden  in  my  house,  because  the  Bargello 
was  after  him,  and  would  seize  him  anywhere  outside  my 
house,  but  there  they  would  not  dare  to  touch  him.  I  made 
answer  that  in  my  house  lived  my  widowed  sister  and  six  girls 
of  holy  life,  and  that  I  wanted  nobody  else  there.  Upon  that 
she  related  that  the  majordomo  had  given  orders  to  the  Bar- 
gello, and  that  I  should  certainly  be  taken  up:  only,  if  I  would 
not  harbour  her  son,  I  might  square  accounts  by  paying  her 
a  hundred  crowns;  the  majordomo  was  her  crony,  and  I 
might  rest  assured  that  she  could  work  him  to  her  liking, 
provided  I  paid  down  the  hundred  crowns.  This  cozenage 
goaded  me  into  such  a  fury  that  I  cried:  "  Out  with  you, 
shameful  strumpet!  Were  it  not  for  my  good  reputation, 
and  for  the  innocence  of  this  unhappy  boy  of  yours  here,  I 
should  long  ago  have  cut  your  throat  with  the  dagger  at  my 
side;  and  twice  or  thrice  I  have  already  clasped  my  fingers 
on  the  handle."  With  words  to  this  efifect,  and  many  ugly 
blows  to  boot,  I  drove  the  woman  and  her  son  into  the  street. 

LXII 

When  I  reflected  on  the  roguery  and  power  of  that  evil- 
minded  pedant,  I  judged  it  best  to  give  a  wide  berth  to  his 
infernal  machinations;  so  early  next  morning  I  mounted  my 
•horse  and  took  the  road  for  Venice,  leaving  in  my  sister's 
hands  jewels  and  articles  to  the  value  of  nearly  two  thousand 
crowns.  I  took  with  me  my  servant  Bernardino  of  Mugello; 
and  when  I  reached  Ferrara,  I  wrote  word  to  his  Excellency 
the  Duke,  that  though  I  had  gone  off  without  being  sent,  I 
should  come  back  again  without  being  called  for. 

On  arriving  at  Venice,  and  pondering  upon  the  divers 
ways  my  cruel  fortune  took  to  torment  me,  yet  at  the  same 
time  feeling  myself  none  the  less  sound  in  health  and  hearty. 


340 


CELLINI 


I  made  up  my  mind  to  fence  with  her  according  to  my  wont. 
While  thus  engrossed  in  thoughts  about  my  own  affairs,  I 
went  abroad  for  pastime  through  that  beautiful  and  sump- 
tuous city,  and  paid  visits  to  the  admirable  painter  Titian,  and 
to  Jacopo  del  Sansovino,  our  able  sculptor  and  architect  from 
Florence.  The  latter  enjoyed  an  excellent  appointment  under 
the  Signoria  of  Venice;  and  we  had  been  acquainted  during 
our  youth  in  Rome  and  Florence.  These  two  men  of  genius 
received  me  with  marked  kindness.  The  day  afterward  I 
met  Messer  Lorenzo  de'  Medici,^  who  took  me  by  the  hand  at 
once,  giving  me  the  warmest  welcome  which  could  be  im- 
agined, because  we  had  known  each  other  in  Florence  when 
I  was  coining  for  Duke  Alessandro,  and  afterward  in  Paris 
while  I  was  in  the  King's  service.  At  that  time  he  sojourned 
in  the  house  of  Messer  Giuliano  Buonaccorsi,  and  having  no- 
where else  to  go  for  pastime  without  the  greatest  peril  of  his 
life,  he  used  to  spend  a  large  part  of  the  day  in  my  house, 
watching  me  working  at  the  great  pieces  I  produced  there. 
As  I  was  saying,  our  former  acquaintance  led  him  to  take  me 
by  the  hand  and  bring  me  to  his  dwelling,  where  I  found  the 
Prior  degli  Strozzi,  brother  of  my  lord  Piero.  While  making 
good  cheer  together,  they  asked  me  how  long  I  intended  to 
remain  in  Venice,  thinking  that  I  was  on  my  return  journey 
into  France.  To  these  gentlemen  I  replied  that  I  had  left 
Florence  on  account  of  the  events  I  have  described  above, 
and  that  I  meant  to  go  back  after  two  or  three  days,  in  order 
to  resume  my  service  with  the  Duke.  On  hearing  this,  the 
Prior  and  Messer  Lorenzo  turned  round  on  me  with  such 
sternness  that  I  felt  extremely  uneasy;  then  they  said  to  me: 
"  You  would  do  far  better  to  return  to  France,  where  you  are 
rich  and  well  known ;  for  if  you  go  back  to  Florence,  you  will 
lose  all  that  you  have  gained  in  France,  and  will  earn  nothing 
there  but  annoyances." 

I  made  no  answer  to  these  words,  and  departed  the  next 
day  as  secretly  as  I  was  able,  turning  my  face  again  toward 
Florence.  In  the  meanwhile  that  infernal  plot  had  come  to  a 
head  and  broken,  for  I  had  written  to  my  great  master,  the 
Duke,  giving  him  a  full  account  of  the  causes  of  my  escapade 
to  Venice.     I  went  to  visit  him  without  any  ceremony,  and 

'  This  is  Lorenzino  de'  Medici,  the  murderer  of  Alessandro,  who  was 
himself  assassinated  by  two  Tuscan  bravi  in  1548. 


MEMOIRS  341 

was  received  with  his  usual  reserve  and  austerity.  Having 
maintained  this  attitude  awhile,  he  turned  toward  me  pleas- 
antly, and  asked  where  I  had  been.  I  answered  that  my 
heart  had  never  moved  one  inch  from  his  most  illustrious 
Excellency,  although  some  weighty  reasons  had  forced  me  to 
go  a  roaming  for  a  little  while.  Then  softening  still  more  in 
manner,  he  began  to  question  me  concerning  Venice,  and 
after  this  wise  we  conversed  some  space  of  time.  At  last  he 
bade  me  apply  myself  to  business,  and  complete  his  Perseus. 
So  I  returned  home  glad  and  light-hearted,  and  comforted 
my  family,  that  is  to  say,  my  sister  and  her  six  daughters. 
Then  I  resumed  my  work,  and  pushed  it  forward  as  briskly 

as  I  could. 

LXIII 

The  first  piece  I  cast  in  bronze  was  that  great  bust,  the 
portrait  of  his  Excellency,  which  I  had  modelled  in  the  gold- 
smith's workroom  while  suffering  from  those  pains  in  my 
back.^  .  It  gave  much  pleasure  when  it  was  completed,  though 
my  sole  object  in  making  it  was  to  obtain  experience  of  clays 
suitable  for  bronze-casting.  I  was  of  course  aware  that  the 
/  admirable  sculptor  Donatello  had  cast  his  bronzes  with  the 
clay  of  Florence;  yet  it  seemed  to  me  that  he  had  met  with 
enormous  difficulties  in  their  execution.  As  I  thought  that 
this  was  due  to  some  fault  in  the  earth,  I  wanted  to  make 
these  first  experiments  before  I  undertook  my  Perseus.  From 
them  I  learned  that  the  clay  was  good  enough,  but  had  not 
been  well  understood  by  Donatello,  inasmuch  as  I  could  see 
that  his  pieces  had  been  cast  with  the  very  greatest  trouble. 
Accordingly,  as  I  have  described  above,  I  prepared  the  earth 
by  artificial  methods,  and  found  it  serve  me  well,  and  with  it 
I  cast  the  bust;  but  since  I  had  not  yet  constructed  my  own 
furnace,  I  employed  that  of  Maestro  Zanobi  di  Pagno,  a  bell- 
founder. 

When  I  saw  that  this  bust  came  out  sharp  and  clean,  I  set 
at  once  to  construct  a  little  furnace  in  the  workshop  erected 
for  me  by  the  Duke,  after  my  own  plans  and  design,  in  the 
house  which  the  Duke  had  given  me.  No  sooner  was  the 
furnace  ready  than  I  went  to  work  with  all  diligence  upon 
the  casting  of  Medusa,  that  is,  the  woman  twisted  in  a  heap 
beneath  the  feet  of  Perseus.     It  was  an  extremely  difficult 

.'*  Now  in  the  Museum  of  the  Bargello  Palace  at  Florence. 


342  CELLINI 

task,  and  I  was  anxious  to  observe  all  the  niceties  of  art  which 
I  had  learned,  so  as  not  to  lapse  into  some  error.  The  first 
cast  I  took  in  my  furnace  succeeded  in  the  superlative  degree, 
and  was  so  clean  that  my  friends  thought  I  should  not  need 
to  retouch  it.  It  is  true  that  certain  Germans  and  French- 
men, who  vaunt  the  possession  of  marvellous  secrets,  pretend 
that  they  can  cast  bronzes  without  retouching  them;  but  this 
is  really  nonsense,  because  the  bronze,  when  it  has  first  been 
cast,  ought  to  be  worked  over  and  beaten  in  with  hammers 
and  chisels,  according  to  the  manner  of  the  ancients  and  also 
to  that  of  the  moderns — I  mean  such  moderns  as  have  known 
how  to  work  in  bronze. 

The  result  of  this  casting  greatly  pleased  his  Excellency, 
who  often  came  to  my  house  to  inspect  it,  encouraging  me 
by  the  interest  he  showed  to  do  my  best.  The  furious  envy 
of  Bandinello,  however,  who  kept  always  whispering  in  the 
Duke's  ears,  had  such  effect  that  he  made  him  believe  my 
first  successes  with  a  single  figure  or  two  proved  nothing;  I 
should  never  be  able  to  put  the  whole  large  piece  together, 
since  I  was  new  to  the  craft,  and  his  Excellency  ought  to  take 
good  heed  he  did  not  throw  his  money  away.  These  insinu- 
ations operated  so  efficiently  upon  the  Duke's  illustrious  ears, 
that  part  of  my  allowance  for  workpeople  was  withdrawn. 
I  felt  compelled  to  complain  pretty  sharply  to  his  Excellency; 
and  having  gone  to  wait  on  him  one  morning  in  the  Via  de' 
Servi,  I  spoke  as  follows :  "  My  lord,  I  do  not  now  receive 
the  monies  necessary  for  my  task,  which  makes  me  fear  that 
your  Excellency  has  lost  confidence  in  me.  Once  more  then 
I  tell  you  that  I  feel  quite  able  to  execute  this  statue  three 
times  better  than  the  model,  as  I  have  before  engaged  my 

word." 

LXIV 

I  could  see  that  this  speech  made  no  impression  on  the 
Duke,  for  he  kept  silence;  then,  seized  with  sudden  anger 
and  a  vehement  emotion,  I  began  again  to  address  him:  "  My 
lord,  this  city  of  a  truth  has  ever  been  the  school  of  the  most 
noble  talents.  Yet  when  a  man  has  come  to  know  what  he 
is  worth,  after  gaining  some  acquirements,  and  wishing  to 
augment  the  glory  of  his  town  and  of  his  glorious  prince,  it 
is  quite  right  that  he  should  go  and  labour  elsewhere.  To 
prove  the  truth  of  these  words,  I  need  only  remind  your  Ex- 


MEMOIRS 


343 


cellency  of  Donatello  and  the  great  Lionardo  da  Vinci  in 
the  past,  and  of  our  incomparable  Michel  Angclo  Buonarroti 
in  the  present;  they  augment  the  glory  of  your  Excellency  by 
their  genius.  I  in  my  turn  feel  the  same  desire  and  hope  to 
play  my  part  like  them;  therefore,  my  lord,  give  me  the  leave 
to  go.  But  beware  of  letting  Bandinello  quit  you;  rather 
bestow  upon  him  always  more  than  he  demands;  for  if  he 
goes  into  foreign  parts,  his  ignorance  is  so  presumptuous  that 
he  is  just  the  man  to  disgrace  our  most  illustrious  school. 
Now  grant  me  my  permission,  prince!  I  ask  no  further  re- 
ward for  my  labours  up  to  this  time  than  the  gracious  favour 
of  your  most  illustrious  Excellency."  When  he  saw  the  firm- 
ness of  my  resolution,  he  turned  with  some  irritation  and  ex- 
claimed: "  Benvenuto,  if  you  want  to  finish  the  statue,  you 
shall  lack  for  nothing."  Then  I  thanked  him  and  said  I  had 
no  greater  desire  than  to  show  those  envious  folk  that  I  had 
it  in  me  to  execute  the  promised  work.  When  I  left  his  Ex- 
cellency, I  received  some  slight  assistance;  but  this  not  being 
sufficient,  I  had  to  put  my  hand  into  my  own  purse,  in  order 
to  push  the  work  forward  at  something  better  than  a  snail's 
pace. 

It  was  my  custom  to  pass  the  evening  in  the  Duke's  ward- 
robe, where  Domenico  Poggini  and  his  brother  Gianpagolo 
were  at  work  upon  that  golden  cup  for  the  Duchess  and  the 
girdle  I  have  already  described.  His  Excellency  had  also 
commissioned  me  to  make  a  little  model  for  a  pendent  to  set 
the  great  diamond  which  Bernardone  and  Antonio  Landi 
made  him  buy.  I  tried  to  get  out  of  doing  it,  but  the  Duke 
compelled  me  by  all  sorts  of  kindly  pressure  to  work  until 
four  hours  after  nightfall.  He  kept  indeed  enticing  me  to 
push  this  job  forward  by  daytime  also;  but  I  would  not  con- 
sent, although  I  felt  sure  I  should  incur  his  anger.  Now  one 
evening  I  happened  to  arrive  rather  later  than  usual,  where- 
upon he  said:  "111  come  may  you  be!"  I  answered:  "My 
lord,  that  is  not  my  name;  my  name  is  Welcome!  But,  as 
1  suppose  your  Excellency  is  joking,  I  will  add  no  more."  He 
replied  that,  far  from  joking,  he  meant  solemn  earnest.  I  had 
better  look  to  my  conduct,  for  it  had  come  to  his  ears  that  I 
relied  upon  his  favour  to  take  in  first  one  man  and  then  an- 
other. I  begged  his  most  illustrious  Excellency  to  name  a 
single  person  whom  I  had  ever  taken  in.     At  this  he  flew 


344  CELLINI 

into  a  rage,  and  said:  "  Go,  and  give  back  to  Bernardone 
what  you  have  of  his.  There!  I  have  mentioned  one."  I 
said:  "  My  lord,  I  thank  you,  and  beg  you  to  condescend  so 
far  as  to  listen  to  four  words.  It  is  true  that  he  lent  me  a 
pair  of  old  scales,  two  anvils,  and  three  little  hammers,  which 
articles  I  begged  his  workman,  Giorgio  da  Cortona,  fifteen 
days  ago,  to  fetch  back.  Giorgio  came  for  them  himself.  If 
your  Excellency  can  prove,  on  referring  to  those  who  have 
spoken  these  calumnies,  or  to  others,  that  I  have  ever,  from 
the  day  of  my  birth  till  now,  got  any  single  thing  by  fraud 
from  anybody,  be  it  in  Rome  or  be  it  in  France,  then  let  your 
Excellency  punish  me  as  immoderately  as  you  choose."  When 
the  Duke  saw  me  in  this  mighty  passion,  he  assumed  the  air 
of  a  prudent  and  benevolent  lord,  saying:  "  Those  words  are 
not  meant  for  well-doers;  therefore,  if  it  is  as  you  say,  I  shall 
always  receive  you  with  the  same  kindness  as  heretofore." 
To  this  I  answered:  "  I  should  like  your  Excellency  to  know 
that  the  rascalities  of  Bernardone  compel  me  to  ask  as  a 
favour  how  much  that  big  diamond  with  the  cropped  point 
cost  you.  I  hope  to  prove  on  what  account  that  scoundrel 
tries  to  bring  me  into  disgrace."  Then  his  Excellency  re- 
plied: "I  paid  25,000  ducats  for  it;  why  do  you  ask  me?" 
"  Because,  my  lord,  on  such  a  day,  at  such  an  hour,  in  a  corner 
of  Mercato  Nuovo,  Antonio  Landi,  the  son  of  Vittorio,  begged 
me  to  induce  your  Excellency  to  buy  it,  and  at  my  first  ques- 
tion he  asked  16,000  ducats  for  the  diamond;  now  your  Ex- 
cellency knows  what  it  has  cost  you.  Domenico  Poggini  and 
Gianpagolo  his  brother,  who  are  present,  will  confirm  my 
words;  for  I  spoke  to  them  at  once  about  it,  and  since  that 
time  have  never  once  alluded  to  the  matter,  because  your 
Excellency  told  me  I  did  not  understand  these  things,  which 
made  me  think  you  wanted  to  keep  up  the  credit  of  your 
stone.  I  should  like  you  to  know,  my  lord,  that  I  do  under- 
stand, and  that,  as  regards  my  character,  I  consider  myself 
no  less  honest  than  any  man  who  ever  lived  upon  this  earth. 
I  shall  not  try  to  rob  you  of  eight  or  ten  thousand  ducats  at 
one  go,  but  shall  rather  seek  to  earn  them  by  my  industry. 
I  entered  the  service  of  your  Excellency  as  sculptor,  gold- 
smith, and  stamper  of  coin;  but  to  blab  about  my  neighbour's 
private  matters, — never!  What  T  am  now  telling  you  I  say  in 
self-defence ;  I  do  not  want  my  fee  for  information.    If  I  speak 


MEMOIRS 


345 


out  in  the  presence  of  so  many  worthy  fellows  as  are  here, 

it  is  because  I  do  not  wish  your  Excellency  to  believe  what 

Bernardone  tells  you." 

When  he  had  heard  this  speech,  the  Duke  rose  up  in  anger, 

and  sent  for  Bernardone,  who  was  forced  to  take  flight  as  far 

as  Venice,  he  and  Antonio  Landi  with  him.     The  latter  told 

me  that  he  had  not  meant  that  diamond,  but  was  talking  of 

another  stone.     So  then   they   went  and  came   again   from 

Venice;  whereupon  I  presented  myself  to  the  Duke  and  spoke 

as  follows:  "  My  lord,  what  I  told  you  is  the  truth;  and  what 

Bernardone  said  about  the  tools  he  lent  me  is  a  lie.     You 

had  better  put  this  to  the  proof,  and  I  will  go  at  once  to  the 

Bargello."     The  Duke  made  answer:  "  Benvenuto,  do  your 

best  to  be  an  honest  man,  as  you  have  done  until  now;  you 

have  no  cause  for  apprehension."    So  the  whole  matter  passed 

off  in  smoke,  and  I  heard  not  one  more  word  about  it.     I 

applied  myself  to  finishing  his  jewel;  and  when  I  took  it  to 

the  Duchess,  her  Grace  said  that  she  esteemed  my  setting 

quite  as  highly  as  the  diamond  which  Bernardaccio  had  made 

them  buy.    She  then  desired  me  to  fasten  it  upon  her  breast, 

and  handed  me  a  large  pin,  with  which  I  fixed  it,  and  took  my 

leave  in  her  good  favour.^     Afterward  I  was  informed  that 

they  had  the  stone  reset  by  a  German  or  some  other  foreigner 

— whether  truly  or  not  I  can  not  vouch — upon  Bernardone's 

suggestion  that  the  diamond  would  show  better  in  a  less 

elaborate  setting. 

LXV 

I  believe  I  have  already  narrated  how  Domenico  and  Gio- 
vanpagolo  Poggini,  goldsmiths  and  brothers,  were  at  work  in 
the  Duke's  wardrobe  upon  some  little  golden  vases,  after  my 
design,  chased  with  figures  in  bas-relief,  and  other  ornaments 
of  great  distinction.  I  oftentimes  kept  saying  to  his  Excel- 
lency :  "  My  lord,  if  you  will  undertake  to  pay  some  work- 
people, I  am  ready  to  strike  coins  for  your  mint  and  medals 
with  your  portrait.  I  am  willing  to  enter  into  competition 
with  the  ancients,  and  feel  able  to  surpass  them;  for  since 
those  early  days  in  which  I  made  the  medals  of  Pope  Clement, 
I  have  learned  so  much  that  I  can  now  produce  far  better 
pieces  of  the  kind.    I  think  I  can  also  outdo  the  coins  I  struck 

'  It  is  worthy  of  notice  that  from  this  point  onward  the  MS.  is  written 
by  Cellini  in  his  own  hand. 


346  CELLINI 

for  Duke  Alessandro,  which  are  still  held  in  high  esteem;  in 
like  manner  I  could  make  for  you  large  pieces  of  gold  and 
silver  plate,  as  I  did  so  often  for  that  noble  monarch,  King 
Francis  of  France,  thanks  to  the  great  conveniences  he  al- 
lowed me,  without  ever  losing  time  for  the  execution  of  colos- 
sal statues  or  other  works  of  the  sculptor's  craft."  To  this 
suggestion  the  Duke  replied:  "  Go  forward;  I  will  see;"  but 
he  never  supplied  me  with  conveniences  or  aid  of  any  kind. 

One  day  his  most  illustrious  Excellency  handed  me  sev- 
eral pounds  weight  of  silver,  and  said:  "  This  is  some  of  the 
silver  from  my  mines;  take  it,  and  make  a  fine  vase."  Now  I 
did  not  choose  to  neglect  my  Perseus,  and  at  the  same  time  I 
wished  to  serve  the  Duke,  so  I  entrusted  the  metal,  together 
with  my  designs  and  models  in  wax,  to  a  rascal  called  Piero 
di  Martino,  a  goldsmith  by  trade.  He  set  the  work  up  badly, 
and  moreover  ceased  to  labour  at  it,  so  that  I  lost  more  time 
than  if  I  had  taken  it  in  hand  myself.  After  several  months 
were  wasted,  and  Piero  would  neither  work  nor  put  men  to 
work  upon  the  piece,  I  made  him  give  it  back.  I  moved 
heaven  and  earth  to  get  back  the  body  of  the  vase,  which  he 
had  begun  badly,  as  I  have  already  said,  together  with  the 
remainder  of  the  silver.  The  Duke,  hearing  something  of 
these  disputes,  sent  for  the  vase  and  the  models,  and  never 
told  me  why  or  wherefore.  Suffice  it  to  say,  that  he  placed 
some  of  my  designs  in  the  hands  of  divers  persons  at  Venice 
and  elsewhere,  and  was  very  ill  served  by  them. 

The  Duchess  kept  urging  me  to  do  goldsmith's  work  for 
her.  I  frequently  replied  that  everybody,  nay,  all  Italy,  knew 
well  I  was  an  excellent  goldsmith;  but  Italy  had  not  yet  seen 
what  I  could  do  in  sculpture.  Among  artists,  certain  enraged 
sculptors  laughed  at  me,  and  called  me  the  new  sculptor. 
"  Now  I  hope  to  show  them  that  I  am  an  old  sculptor,  if  God 
shall  grant  me  the  boon  of  finishing  my  Perseus  for  that  noble 
piazza  of  his  most  illustrious  Excellency."  After  this  I  shut 
myself  up  at  home,  working  day  and  night,  not  even  showing 
my  face  in  the  palace.  I  wished,  however,  to  keep  myself  in 
favour  with  the  Duchess;  so  I  got  some  little  cups  made  for 
her  in  silver,  no  larger  than  twopenny  milk-pots,  chased  with 
exquisite  masks  in  the  rarest  antique  style.  When  I  took  them 
to  her  Excellency,  she  received  me  most  graciously,  and  re- 
paid the  gold  and  silver  I  had  spent  upon  them.    Then  I  made 


MEMOIRS 


347 


my  suit  to  her  and  prayed  her  tell  the  Duke  that  I  was  get- 
ting small  assistance  for  so  great  a  work;  I  begged  her  also  to 
warn  him  not  to  lend  so  ready  an  ear  to  Bandinello's  evil 
tongue,  which  hindered  me  from  finishing  my  Perseus.  In 
reply  to  these  lamentable  complaints  the  Duchess  shrugged 
her  shoulders  and  exclaimed:  "  Of  a  surety  the  Duke  ought 
only  too  well  to  know  that  this  Bandinello  of  his  is  worth 

nothing." 

LXVI 

I  now  stayed  at  home,  and  went  rarely  to  the  palace, 
labouring  with  great  diligence  to  complete  my  statue.  I  had 
to  pay  the  workmen  out  of  my  own  pocket;  for  the  Duke, 
after  giving  Lattanzio  Gorini  orders  to  discharge  their  wages, 
at  the  end  of  about  eighteen  months,  grew  tired,  and  with- 
drew this  subsidy.  I  asked  Lattanzio  why  he  did  not  pay 
me  as  usual.  The  man  replied,  gesticulating  wath  those 
spidery  hands  of  his,  in  a  shrill  gnat's  voice:  "  Why  do  not 
you  finish  your  work?  One  thinks  that  you  will  never  get 
it  done."  In  a  rage  I  up  and  answered:  "  May  the  plague 
catch  you  and  all  who  dare  to  think  I  shall  not  finish  it!  " 

So  I  went  home  with  despair  at  heart  to  my  unlucky 
Perseus,  not  without  weeping,  when  I  remembered  the  pros- 
perity I  had  abandoned  in  Paris  under  the  patronage  of  that 
marvellous  King  Francis,  where  I  had  abundance  of  all  kinds, 
and  here  had  everything  to  want  for.  Many  a  time  I  had  it 
in  my  soul  to  cast  myself  away  for  lost.  One  day  on  one  of 
these  occasions,  I  mounted  a  nice  nag  I  had,  put  a  hundred 
crowns  in  my  purse,  and  went  to  Fiesole  to  visit  a  natural 
son  of  mine  there,  who  was  at  nurse  with  my  gossip,  the  wife 
of  one  of  my  w'orkpeople.  When  I  reached  the  house,  I  found 
the  boy  in  good  health,  and  kissed  him,  very  sad  at  heart. 
On  taking  leave,  he  would  not  let  me  go,  but  held  me  with 
his  little  hands  and  a  tempest  of  cries  and  tears.  Consider- 
ing that  he  was  only  two  years  old  or  thereabouts,  the  child's 
grief  was  something  wonderful.  Now  I  had  resolved,  in  the 
heat  of  my  despair,  if  I  met  Bandinello,  who  went  every  even- 
ing to  a  farm  of  his  above  San  Domenico,  that  I  would  hurl 
him  to  destruction;  so  I  disengaged  myself  from  my  baby, 
and  left  the  boy  there  sobbing  his  heart  out.  Taking  the  road 
toward  Florence,  just  when  I  entered  the  piazza  of  San  Do- 
menico, Bandinello  was  arriving  from  the  other  side.     On 


348 


CELLINI 


the  instant  I  decided  upon  bloodshed;  but  when  I  reached 
the  man  and  raised  my  eyes,  I  saw  him  unarmed,  riding  a 
sorry  mule  or  rather  donkey,  and  he  had  with  him  a  boy  of 
ten  years  old.  No  sooner  did  he  catch  sight  of  me  than  he 
turned  the  colour  of  a  corpse,  and  trembled  from  head  to 
foot.  Perceiving  at  once  how  base  the  business  would  be, 
I  exclaimed:  "  Fear  not,  vile  coward!  I  do  not  condescend 
to  smite  you."  He  looked  at  me  submissively  and  said  noth- 
ing. Thereupon  I  recovered  command  of  my  faculties,  and 
thanked  God  that  His  goodness  had  withheld  me  from  so 
great  an  act  of  violence.  Then,  being  delivered  from  that 
fiendish  fury,  my  spirits  rose,  and  I  said  to  myself:  "  If  God 
but  grant  me  to  execute  my  work,  I  hope  by  its  means  to 
annihilate  all  my  scoundrelly  enemies;  and  thus  I  shall  per- 
form far  greater  and  more  glorious  revenges  than  if  I  had 
vented  my  rage  upon  one  single  foe."  Having  this  excellent 
.resolve  in  heart,  I  reached  my  home.  At  the  end  of  three 
days  news  was  brought  me  that  my  only  son  had  been  smoth- 
ered by  his  nurse,  my  gossip,  which  gave  me  greater  grief 
than  I  have  ever  had  in  my  whole  life.  However,  I  knelt  upon 
the  ground,  and,  not  without  tears,  returned  thanks  to  God, 
as  I  was  wont,  exclaiming,  "  Lord,  Thou  gavest  me  the  child, 
and  Thou  hast  taken  him;  for  all  Thy  dealings  I  thank  Thee 
with  my  whole  heart."  This  great  sorrow  went  nigh  to  de- 
priving me  of  reason;  yet,  according  to  my  habit,  I  made  a 
virtue  of  necessity,  and  adapted  myself  to  circumstances  as 

well  as  I  was  able. 

LXVII 

About  this  time  a  young  fellow  called  Francesco,  the  son 
of  a  smith,  Matteo,  left  Bandinello's  employment,  and  in- 
quired whether  I  would  give  him  work.  I  agreed,  and  sent 
him  to  retouch  my  Medusa,  which  had  been  new  cast  in 
bronze.  After  a  fortnight  he  mentioned  that  he  had  been 
speaking  with  his  master,  that  is,  Bandinello,  who  told  him, 
if  I  cared  to  make  a  marble  statue,  he  would  give  me  a  fine 
block  of  stone.  I  replied  at  once:  "Tell  him  I  accept  his 
oflfe'r;  perhaps  this  marble  will  prove  a  stumbling-block  to 
him,  for  he  keeps  on  provoking  me,  and  does  not  bear  in 
mind  the  great  peril  he  ran  upon  the  piazza  of  San  Domenico. 
Tell  him  I  will  have  the  marble  by  all  means.  I  never  speak 
about  him,  and  the  beast  is  perpetually  causing  me  annoy- 


MEMOIRS  349 

ance.  I  verily  believe  you  came  to  work  here  at  his  orders 
for  the  mere  purpose  of  spying  upon  me.  Go,  then,  and  tell 
him  I  insist  on  having  the  marble,  even  against  his  will:  see 
that  you  do  not  come  back  without  it." 

LXVIII 

Many  days  had  elapsed  during  which  I  had  not  shown  my 
face  in  the  palace,  when  the  fancy  took  me  to  go  there  one 
morning  just  as  the  Duke  was  finishing  his  dinner.  From 
what  I  heard,  his  Excellency  had  been  talking  of  me  that 
morning,  commending  me  highly,  and  in  particular  praising 
my  skill  in  setting  jewels.  Therefore,  when  the  Duchess 
saw  me,  she  called  for  me  by  Messer  Sforza;  ^  and  on  my 
presenting  myself  to  her  most  illustrious  Excellency,  she 
asked  me  to  set  a  little  point-diamond  in  a  ring,  saying  she 
wished  always  to  wear  it;  at  the  same  time  she  gave  me 
the  measure  and  the  stone,  which  was  worth  about  a  hundred 
crowns,  begging  me  to  be  quick  about  the  work.  Upon 
this  the  Duke  began  speaking  to  the  Duchess,  and  said: 
"  There  is  no  doubt  that  Benvenuto  was  formerly  without 
his  peer  in  this  art;  but  now  that  he  has  abandoned  it,  I 
believe  it  will  be  too  much  trouble  for  him  to  make  a  little 
ring  of  the  sort  you  want.  I  pray  you,  therefore,  not  to  im- 
portune him  about  this  trifle,  which  would  be  no  trifle  to  him 
owing  to  his  want  of  practice."  I  thanked  the  Duke  for  his 
kind  words,  but  begged  him  to  let  me  render  this  trifling 
service  to  the  Duchess.  Then  I  took  the  ring  in  hand,  and 
finished  it  within  a  few  days.  It  was  meant  for  the  little  finger; 
accordingly  I  fashioned  four  tiny  children  in  the  round  and 
four  masks,  which  figures  composed  the  hoop.  I  also  found 
room  for  some  enamelled  fruits  and  connecting  links,  so  that 
the  stone  and  setting  went  uncommonly  well  together.  Then 
I  took  it  to  the  Duchess,  who  told  me  graciously  that  I  had 
produced  a  very  fine  piece,  and  that  she  would  remember  me. 
She  afterward  sent  the  ring  as  a  present  to  King  Philip,  and 
from  that  time  forward  kept  charging  me  with  commissions, 
so  kindly,  however,  that  I  did  my  best  to  serve  her,  although 
I  saw  but  very  little  of  her  money.  God  knows  I  had  great 
need  of  that,  for  I  was  eager  to  finish  my  Perseus,  and  had 

•  Sforza   Almeni,    a   Perugian   gentleman,    the   Duke's    chamberlain. 
Cosimo  killed  this  man  with  his  own  hand  in  the  year  1566. 


350  CELLINI 

engaged  some  journeymen,  whom  I  paid  out  of  my  own  purse. 

I  now  began  to  show  myself  more  often  than  I  had  recently 

been  doing. 

LXIX 

It  happened  on  one  feast-day  that  I  went  to  the  palace 
after  dinner,  and  when  I  reached  the  clockroom,  I  saw  the 
door  of  the  wardrobe  standing  open.  As  I  drew  nigh  it,  the 
Duke  called  me,  and  after  a  friendly  greeting  said:  "  You 
are  welcome!  Look  at  that  box  which  has  been  sent  me  by 
my  lord  Stefano  of  Palestrina.^  Open  it,  and  let  us  see  what 
it  contains."  When  I  had  opened  the  box,  I  cried  to  the 
Duke:  "  My  lord,  this  is  a  statue  in  Greek  marble,  and  it  is  a 
miracle  of  beauty.  I  must  say  that  I  have  never  seen  a  boy's 
figure  so  excellently  wrought  and  in  so  fine  a  style  among 
all  the  antiques  I  have  inspected.  If  your  Excellency  per- 
mits, I  should  like  to  restore  it — head  and  arms  and  feet.  I 
will  add  an  eagle,  in  order  that  we  may  christen  the  lad  Gany- 
mede. It  is  certainly  not  my  business  to  patch  up  statues, 
that  being  the  trade  of  botchers,  who  do  it  in  all  conscience 
villainously  ill;  yet  the  art  displayed  by  this  great  master  of 
antiquity  cries  out  to  me  to  help  him."  The  Duke  was  highly 
delighted  to  find  the  statue  so  beautiful,  and  put  me  a  multi- 
tude of  questions,  saying:  "Tell  me,  Benvenuto,  minutely, 
in  what  consists  the  skill  of  this  old  master,  which  so  excites 
your  admiration."  I  then  attempted,  as  well  as  I  was  able, 
to  explain  the  beauty  of  workmanship,  the  consummate  sci- 
ence, and  the  rare  manner  displayed  by  the  fragment.  I  spoke 
long  upon  these  topics,  and  with  the  greater  pleasure  because 
I  saw  that  his  Excellency  was  deeply  interested. 

LXX 

While  I  was  thus  pleasantly  engaged  in  entertaining  the 
Duke,  a  page  happened  to  leave  the  wardrobe,  and  at  the 
same  moment  Bandinello  entered.  When  the  Duke  saw  him, 
his  countenance  contracted,  and  he  asked  him  drily:  "What 
are  you  about  here?"  Bandinello,  without  answering,  cast 
a  glance  upon  the  box,  where  the  statue  lay  uncovered.  Then 
breaking  into  one  of  his  malignant  laughs  and  wagging  his 

'  Stefano  Colonna,  of  the  princely  house  of  Palestrina.  He  was  a 
general  of  considerable  repute  in  the  Spanish,  French,  and  Florentine 
services  successively. 


MEMOIRS 


351 


head,  he  turned  to  the  Duke  and  said:  "My  lord,  this  ex- 
actly illustrates  the  truth  of  what  I  have  so  often  told  your 
Excellency.  You  must  know  that  the  ancients  were  wholly 
ignorant  of  anatomy,  and  therefore  their  works  abound  in 
mistakes."  I  kept  silence,  and  paid  no  heed  to  what  he  was 
saying;  nay,  indeed,  I  had  turned  my  back  on  him.  But 
when  the  brute  had  brought  his  disagreeable  babble  to  an 
end,  the  Duke  exclaimed:  "  O  Benvenuto,  this  is  the  exact 
opposite  of  what  you  were  just  now  demonstrating  with  so 
many  excellent  arguments.  Come  and  speak  a  word  in  de- 
fence of  the  statue."  In  reply  to  this  appeal,  so  kindly  made 
me  by  the  Duke,  I  spoke  as  follows:  "My  lord,  your  most 
illustrious  Excellency  must  please  to  know  that  Baccio  Bandi- 
nello  is  made  up  of  everything  bad,  and  thus  has  he  ever 
been;  therefore,  whatever  he  looks  at,  be  the  thing  super- 
latively excellent,  becomes  in  his  ungracious  eyes  as  bad  as 
can  be.  I,  who  incline  to  the  good  only,  discern  the  truth 
with  purer  senses.  Consequently,  what  I  told  your  Excel- 
lency about  this  lovely  statue  is  mere  simple  truth;  whereas 
what  Bandinello  said  is  but  a  portion  of  the  evil  out  of  which 
he  is  composed."  The  Duke  listened  with  much  amusement; 
but  Bandinello  writhed  and  made  the  most  ugly  faces — his 
face  itself  being  by  nature  hideous  beyond  measure — which 
could  be  imagined  by  the  mind  of  man. 

The  Duke  at  this  point  moved  away,  and  proceeded 
through  some  ground-floor  rooms,  while  Bandinello  followed. 
The  chamberlains  twitched  me  by  the  mantle,  and  sent  me 
after;  so  we  all  attended  the  Duke  until  he  reached  a  certain 
chamber,  where  he  seated  himself,  with  Bandinello  and  me 
standing  at  his  right  hand  and  his  left.  I  kept  silence,  and 
the  gentlemen  of  his  Excellency's  suite  looked  hard  at  Bandi- 
nello, tittering  among  themselves  about  the  speech  I  had 
made  in  the  room  above.  So  then  Bandinello  began  again 
to  chatter,  and  cried  out:  "Prince,  when  I  uncovered  my 
Hercules  and  Cacus,  I  verily  believe  a  hundred  sonnets  wer& 
written  on  me.  full  of  the  worst  abuse  which  could  be  invented 
by  the  ignorant  rabble."  ^     I  rejoined:  "  Prince,  when  Michel 

'  The  statue,  which  may  still  be  seen  upon  the  great  piazza,  is,  in  truth, 
a  very  poor  performance.  The  Florentines  were  angry  because  Bandinello 
had  filched  the  commission  away  from  Michel  Angelo.  It  was  uncovered 
in  1534,  and  Duke  Alessandro  had  to  imprison  its  lampooners. 


352 


CELLINI 


Agnolo  Buonarroti  displayed  his  Sacristy  to  view,  with  so 
many  fine  statues  in  it,  the  men  of  talent  in  our  admirable 
school  of  Florence,  always  appreciative  of  truth  and  goodness, 
published  more  than  a  hundred  sonnets,  each  vying  with  his 
neighbour  to  extol  these  masterpieces  to  the  skies.^  So  then, 
just  as  Bandinello's  work  deserved  all  the  evil  which,  he  tells 
us,  was  then  said  about  it,  Buonarroti's  deserved  the  enthusi- 
astic praise  which  was  bestowed  upon  it."  These  words  of 
mine  made  Bandinello  burst  with  fury;  he  turned  on  me, 
and  cried :  "  And  you,  what  have  you  got  to  say  against  my 
work?  "  "  I  will  tell  you  if  you  have  the  patience  to  hear  me 
out."  "  Go  along  then,"  he  replied.  The  Duke  and  his  at- 
tendants prepared  themselves  to  listen.  I  began  and  opened 
my  oration  thus:  "  You  must  know  that  it  pains  me  to  point 
out  the  faults  of  your  statue;  I  shall  not,  however,  utter  my 
own  sentiments,  but  shall  recapitulate  what  our  most  virtuous 
school  of  Florence  says  about  it."  The  brutal  fellow  kept 
making  disagreeable  remarks  and  gesticulating  with  his  hands 
and  feet,  until  he  enraged  me  so  that  I  began  again,  and  spoke 
far  more  rudely  than  I  should  otherwise  have  done,  if  he  had 
behaved  with  decency.  "  Well,  then,  this  virtuous  school 
says  that  if  one  were  to  shave  the  hair  of  your  Hercules,  there 
would  not  be  skull  enough  left  to  hold  his  brain;  it  says  that 
it  is  impossible  to  distinguish  whether  his  features  are  those 
of  a  man  or  of  something  between  a  lion  and  an  ox;  the  face 
too  is  turned  away  from  the  action  of  the  figure,  and  is  so 
badly  set  upon  the  neck,  with  such  poverty  of  art  and  so  ill 
a  grace,  that  nothing  worse  was  ever  seen;  his  sprawling 
shoulders  are  like  the  two  pommels  of  an  ass's  pack-saddle; 
his  breasts  and  all  the  muscles  of  the  body  are  not  portrayed 
from  a  man,  but  from  a  big  sack  full  of  melons  set  upright 
against  a  wall.  The  loins  seem  to  be  modelled  from  a  bag 
of  lanky  pumpkins;  nobody  can  tell  how  his  two  legs  are 
attached  to  that  vile  trunk;  it  is  impossible  to  say  on  which 
leg  he  stands,  or  which  he  uses  to  exert  his  strength;  nor 
does  he  seem  to  be  resting  upon  both,  as  sculptors  who  know 
something  of  their  art  have  occasionally  set  the  figure.  It  is 
obvious  that  the  body  is  leaning  forward  more  than  one-third 

'  Cellini  alludes  of  course  to  the  Sacristy  of  S.  Lorenzo,  designed  by 
Michel  Angelo,  with  the  portraits  of  the  Medici  and  statues  of  Day, 
Night,  Dawn,  and  Twilight. 


MEMOIRS  353 

of  a  cubit,  which  alone  is  the  greatest  and  most  insupportable 
fault  committed  by  vulgar  commonplace  pretenders.  Con- 
cerning the  arms,  they  say  that  these  are  both  stretched  out 
without  one  touch  of  grace  or  one  real  spark  of  artistic  talents 
just  as  if  you  had  never  seen  a  naked  model.  Again,  the  right 
leg  of  Hercules  and  that  of  Cacus  have  got  one  mass  of  flesh 
between  them,  so  that  if  they  were  to  be  separated,  not  only 
one  of  them,  but  both  together,  would  be  left  without  a  calf 
at  the  point  where  they  are  touching.  They  say,  too,  that 
Hercules  has  one  of  his  feet  underground,  while  the  other 
seems  to  be  resting  on  hot  coals." 

LXXI 

The  fellow  could  not  stand  quiet  to  hear  the  damning 
errors  of  his  Cacus  in  their  turn  enumerated.  For  one  thing,  I 
was  telling  the  truth;  for  another,  I  was  unmasking  him  to 
the  Duke  and  all  the  people  present,  who  showed  by  face  and 
gesture  first  their  surprise,  and  next  their  conviction  that  what 
I  said  was  true.  All  at  once  he  burst  out:  "Ah,  you  slan- 
derous tongue!  why  don't  you  speak  about  my  design?"  I 
retorted:  "A  good  draughtsman  can  never  produce  bad 
works;  therefore  I  am  inclined  to  believe  that  your  drawing 
is  no  better  than  your  statues."  When  he  saw  the  amused 
expression  on  the  Duke's  face  and  the  cutting  gestures  of  the 
bystanders,  he  let  his  insolence  get  the  better  of  him,  and 
turned  to  me  with  that  most  hideous  face  of  his,  screaming 
aloud:  "Oh,  hold  your  tongue,  you  ugly  .  .  ."  At  these 
words  the  Duke  frowned,  and  the  others  pursed  their  lips 
up  and  looked  with  knitted  brows  toward  him.  The  horrible 
affront  half  maddened  me  with  fury;  but  in  a  moment  I  re- 
covered presence  of  mind  enough  to  turn  it  off  with  a  jest: 
"  You  madman!  you  exceed  the  bounds  of  decency.  I,  how- 
ever, am  but  a  poor  humble  creature,  who  neither  have  the 
power  nor  the  intelligence  to  perplex  my  wits  with  anything 
so  admirable."  When  I  had  finished  this  speech,  the  Duke 
and  his  attendants  could  control  themselves  no  longer,  but 
broke  into  such  shouts  of  laughter  that  one  never  heard  the 
like.  You  must  know,  gentle  readers,  that  though  I  put  on 
this  appearance  of  pleasantry,  my  heart  was  bursting  in  my 
body  to  think  that  a  fellow,  the  foulest  villain  who  ever 
breathed,  should  have  dared  in  the  presence  of  so  great  a 
23 


354 


CELLINI 


0 


prince  to  cast  an  insult  of  that  atrocious  nature  in  my  teeth; 
but  you  must  also  know  that  he  insulted  the  Duke,  and  not 
me;  for  had  I  not  stood  in  that  august  presence,  I  should 
have  felled  him  dead  to  earth.  When  the  dirty  stupid  scoun- 
drel observed  that  those  gentlemen  kept  on  laughing,  he  tried 
to  change  the  subject,  and  divert  them  from  deriding  him; 
so  he  began  as  follows:  "This  fellow  Benvenuto  goes  about 
boasting  that  I  have  promised  him  a  piece  of  marble."  I 
took  him  up  at  once.  "What!  did  you  not  send  to  tell  me 
by  your  journeyman,  Francesco,  that  if  I  wished  to  work  in 
marble  you  would  give  me  a  block?  I  accepted  it,  and  mean 
to  have  it."  He  retorted:  "  Be  very  well  assured  that  you 
will  never  get  it."  Still  smarting  as  I  was  under  the  calumni- 
ous insults  he  had  flung  at  me,  I  lost  my  self-control,  forgot 
I  was  in  the  presence  of  the  Duke,  and  called  out  in  a  storm 
of  fury :  "  I  swear  to  you  that  if  you  do  not  send  the  marble 
to  my  house,  you  had  better  look  out  for  another  world,  for  if 
you  stay  upon  this  earth  I  will  most  certainly  rip  the  wind  out 
of  your  carcass."  Then  suddenly  awaking  to  the  fact  that  I 
was  standing  in  the  presence  of  so  great  a  duke,  I  turned 
submissively  to  his  Excellency  and  said:  "  My  lord,  one  fool 
makes  a  hundred;  the  follies  of  this  man  have  blinded  me  for 
a  moment  to  the  glory  of  your  most  illustrious  Excellency 
and  to  myself.  I  humbly  crave  your  pardon."  Then  the  Duke 
said  to  Bandinello:  "  Is  it  true  that  you  promised  him  the 
marble?"  He  replied  that  it  was  true.  Upon  this  the  Duke 
addressed  me:  "  Go  to  the  Opera,  and  choose  a  piece  accord- 
ing to  your  taste."  I  demurred  that  the  man  had  promised 
to  send  it  home  to  me.  The  words  that  passed  between  us 
were  awful,  and  I  refused  to  take  the  stone  in  any  other  way. 
Next  morning  a  piece  of  marble  was  brought  to  my  house. 
On  asking  who  had  sent  it,  they  told  me  it  was  Bandinello, 
and  that  this  was  the  very  block  which  he  had  promised. 

LXXII 

I  had  it  brought  at  once  into  my  studio,  and  began  to 
chisel  it.  While  I  was  rough-hewing  the  block,  I  made  a 
model.  But  my  eagerness  to  work  in  marble  was  so  strong, 
that  I  had  not  patience  to  finish  the  model  as  correctly  as  this 
art  demands.  I  soon  noticed  that  the  stone  rang  false  beneath 
my  strokes,  which  made  me  oftentimes  repent  commencing 


MEMOIRS  355 

on  it.  Yet  I  got  what  I  could  out  of  the  piece — that  is,  the 
Apollo  and  Hyacinth,  which  may  still  be  seen  unfinished  in 
my  workshop.  While  I  was  thus  engaged,  the  Duke  came 
to  my  house,  and  often  said  to  me:  "Leave  your  bronze  awhile, 
and  let  me  watch  you  working  on  the  marble."  Then  I  took 
chisel  and  mallet,  and  went  at  it  blithely.  He  asked  about 
the  model  I  had  made  for  my  statue;  to  which  I  answered: 
"  Duke,  this  marble  is  all  cracked,  but  I  shall  carve  some- 
thing from  it  in  spite  of  that;  therefore  I  have  not  been  able 
to  settle  the  model,  but  shall  go  on  doing  the  best  I  can." 

His  Excellency  sent  to  Rome  post-haste  for  a  block  of 
Greek  marble,  in  order  that  I  might  restore  his  antique  Gany- 
mede, which  was  the  cause  of  that  dispute  with  Bandinello. 
When  it  arrived,  I  thought  it  a  sin  to  cut  it  up  for  the  head  and 
arms  and  other  bits  wanting  in  the  Ganymede;  so  I  provided 
myself  with  another  piece  of  stone,  and  reserved  the  Greek 
marble  for  a  Narcissus  which  I  modelled  on  a  small  scale  in 
wax.  I  found  that  the  block  had  two  holes,  penetrating  to 
the  depth  of  a  quarter  of  a  cubit,  and  two  good  inches  wide. 
This  led  me  to  choose  the  attitude  which  may  be  noticed  in 
my  statue,  avoiding  the  holes  and  keeping  my  figure  free 
from  them.  But  rain  had  fallen  scores  of  years  upon  the 
stone,  filtering  so  deeply  from  the  holes  into  its  substance  that 
the  marble  was  decayed.  Of  this  I  had  full  proof  at  the  time 
of  a  great  inundation  of  the  Arno,  when  the  river  rose  to 
the  height  of  more  than  a  cubit  and  a  half  in  my  workshop.^ 
Now  the  Narcissus  stood  upon  a  square  of  wood,  and  the 
water  overturned  it,  causing  the  statue  to  break  in  two  above 
the  breasts.  I  had  to  join  the  pieces;  and  in  order  that  the 
line  of  breakage  might  not  be  observed,  I  wreathed  that  gar- 
land of  flowers  round  it  which  may  still  be  seen  upon  the 
bosom.  I  went  on  working  at  the  surface,  employing  some 
hours  before  sunrise,  or  now  and  then  on  feast-days,  so  as  not 
to  lose  the  time  I  needed  for  my  Perseus. 

It  so  happened  on  one  of  those  mornings,  while  I  was  get- 
ting some  little  chisels  into  trim  to  work  on  the  Narcissus, 
that  a  very  fine  splinter  of  steel  flew  into  my  right  eye,  and 
embedded  itself  so  deeply  in  the  pupil  that  it  could  not  be 
extracted.  I  thought  for  certain  I  must  lose  the  sight  of  that 
eye.     After  some  days  I  sent  for  Maestro  Raflfaello  de  Pilli, 

'  Cellini  alludes  to  a  celebrated  inundation  of  the  year  1547. 


356 


CELLINI 


the  surgeon,  who  obtained  a  couple  of  live  pigeons,  and 
placing  me  upon  my  back  across  a  table,  took  the  birds  and 
opened  a  large  vein  they  have  beneath  the  wing,  so  that  the 
blood  gushed  out  into  my  eye.  I  felt  immediately  relieved, 
and  in  the  space  of  two  days  the  splinter  came  away,  and  I 
remained  with  eyesight  greatly  improved.  Against  the  feast 
of  S.  Lucia,  which  came  round  in  three  days,  I  made  a  golden 
eye  out  of  a  French  crown,  and  had  it  presented  at  her  shrine 
by  one  of  my  six  nieces,  daughters  of  my  sister  Liperata;  the 
girl  was  ten  years  of  age,  and  in  her  company  I  returned 
thanks  to  God  and  S.  Lucia.  For  some  while  afterward  I  did 
not  work  at  the  Narcissus,  but  pushed  my  Perseus  forward 
under  all  the  difficulties  I  have  described.  It  was  my  purpose 
to  finish  it,  and  then  to  bid  farewell  to  Florence. 

LXXIII 

Having  succeeded  so  well  with  the  cast  of  the  Medusa,  I 
had  great  hope  of  bringing  my  Perseus  through;  for  I  had 
laid  the  wax  on,  and  felt  confident  that  it  would  come  out  in 
bronze  as  perfectly  as  the  Medusa.  The  waxen  model  pro- 
duced so  fine  an  effect,  that  when  the  Duke  saw  it  and  was 
struck  with  its  beauty — whether  somebody  had  persuaded 
him  it  could  not  be  carried  out  with  the  same  finish  in  metal, 
or  whether  he  thought  so  for  himself — he  came  to  visit  me 
more  frequently  than  usual,  and  on  one  occasion  said:  "  Ben- 
venuto,  this  figure  can  not  succeed  in  bronze;  the  laws  of  art 
do  not  admit  of  it."  These  words  of  his  Excellency  stung 
me  so  sharply  that  I  answered:  "  My  lord,  I  know  how  very 
little  confidence  you  have  in  me;  and  I  believe  the  reason  of 
this  is  that  your  most  illustrious  Excellency  lends  too  ready 
an  ear  to  my  calumniators,  or  else  indeed  that  you  do  not 
understand  my  art."  He  hardly  let  me  close  the  sentence 
when  he  broke  in:  "I  profess  myself  a  connoisseur,  and  un- 
derstand it  very  well  indeed."  I  replied:  "  Yes,  like  a  prince, 
not  like  an  artist;  for  if  your  Excellency  understood  my  trade 
as  well  as  you  imagine,  you  would  trust  me  on  the  proofs 
I  have  already  given.  These  are,  first,  the  colossal  bronze 
bust  of  your  Excellency,  which  is  now  in  Elba;^  secondly, 
the  restoration  of  the  Ganymede  in  marble,  which  offered  so 
many  difficulties  and  cost  me  so  much  trouble,  that  I  would 
*  At  Portoferraio.     It  came  afterward  to  Florence. 


MEiMOIRS 


357 


rather  have  made  the  whole  statue  new  from  the  beginning; 
thirdly,  the  Medusa,  cast  by  me  in  bronze,  here  now  before 
your  Excellency's  eyes,  the  execution  of  which  was  a  greater 
triumph  of  strength  and  skill  than  any  of  my  predecessors  in 
this  fiendish  art  have  yet  achieved.  Look  you,  my  lord!  I 
constructed  that  furnace  anew  on  principles  quite  different 
from  those  of  other  founders;  in  addition  to  many  technical 
improvements  and  ingenious  devices,  I  supplied  it  with  two 
issues  for  the  metal,  because  this  difficult  and  twisted  figure 
could  not  otherwise  have  come  out  perfect.  It  is  only  owing 
to  my  intelligent  insight  into  means  and  appliances  that  the 
statue  turned  out  as  it  did;  a  triumph  judged  impossible  by 
all  the  practitioners  of  this  art.  I  should  like  you  further- 
more to  be  aware,  my  lord,  for  certain,  that  the  sole  reason 
why  I  succeeded  with  all  those  great  and  arduous  works  in 
France  under  his  most  admirable  Majesty  King  Francis,  was 
the  high  courage  which  that  good  monarch  put  into  my  heart 
by  the  liberal  allowances  he  made  me,  and  the  multitude  of 
workpeople  he  left  at  my  disposal.  I  could  have  as  many  as 
I  asked  for,  and  employed  at  times  above  forty,  all  chosen  by 
myself.  These  were  the  causes  of  my  having  there  produced 
so  many  masterpieces  in  so  short  a  space  of  time.  Now  then, 
my  lord,  put  trust  in  me;  supply  me  with  the  aid  I  need.  I 
am  confident  of  being  able  to  complete  a  work  which  will 
delight  your  soul.  But  if  your  Excellency  goes  on  disheart- 
ening me,  and  does  not  advance  me  the  assistance  which  is 
absolutely  required,  neither  I  nor  any  man  alive  upon  this 
earth  can  hope  to  achieve  the  slightest  thing  of  value." 

LXXIV 

It  was  as  much  as  the  Duke  could  do  to  stand  by  and  listen 
to  my  pleadings.  He  kept  turning  first  this  way  and  then 
that;  while  I,  in  despair,  poor  wretched  I,  was  calling  up 
remembrance  of  the  noble  state  I  held  in  France,  to  the  great 
sorrow  of  my  soul.  All  at  once  he  cried:  "  Come,  tell  me, 
Benvenuto,  how  is  it  possible  that  yonder  splendid  head  of 
Medusa,  so  high  up  there  in  the  grasp  of  Perseus,  should  ever 
come  out  perfect?"  I  replied  upon  the  instant:  "  Look  you 
now,  my  lord!  If  your  Excellency  possessed  that  knowledge 
of  the  craft  which  you  affirm  you  have,  you  would  not  fear 
one  moment  for  the  splendid  head  you  speak  of.     There  is 


-c8  CELLINI 

good  reason,  on  the  other  hand,  to  feel  uneasy  about  this  right 
foot,  so  far  below  and  at  a  distance  from  the  rest."  When  he 
heard  these  words,  the  Duke  turned,  half  in  anger,  to  some 
gentlemen  in  waiting,  and  exclaimed:  "I  verily  believe  that 
this  Benvenuto  prides  himself  on  contradicting  everything 
one  says."  Then  he  faced  round  to  me  with  a  touch  of  mock- 
ery, upon  which  his  attendants  did  the  like,  and  began  to 
speak  as  follows :  "  I  will  listen  patiently  to  any  argument 
you  can  possibly  produce  in  explanation  of  your  statement, 
w^hich  may  convince  me  of  its  probability."  I  said  in  answer: 
"  I  will  adduce  so  sound  an  argument  that  your  Excellency 
shall  perceive  the  full  force  of  it."  So  I  began:  "  You  must 
know,  my  lord,  that  the  nature  of  fire  is  to  ascend,  and  there- 
fore I  promise  you  that  Medusa's  head  will  come  out  famously; 
but  since  it  is  not  in  the  nature  of  fire  to  descend,  and  I  must 
force  it  downward  six  cubits  by  artificial  means,  I  assure  your 
Excellency  upon  this  most  convincing  ground  of  proof  that 
the  foot  can  not  possibly  come  out.  It  will,  however,  be  quite 
easy  for  me  to  restore  it."  "  Why,  then,"  said  the  Duke,  "  did 
you  not  devise  it  so  that  the  foot  should  come  out  as  well  as 
you  affirm  the  head  will?  "  I  answered:  "  I  must  have  made 
a  much  larger  furnace,  with  a  conduit  as  thick  as  my  leg;  and 
so  I  might  have  forced  the  molten  metal  by  its  own  weight  to 
descend  so  far.  Now,  my  pipe,  which  runs  six  cubits  to  the 
statue's  foot,  as  I  have  said,  is  not  thicker  than  two  fingers. 
However,  it  was  not  worth  the  trouble  and  expense  to  make 
a  larger;  for  I  shall  easily  be  able  to  mend  what  is  lacking. 
But  when  my  mould  is  more  than  half  full,  as  I  expect,  from 
this  middle  point  upward,  the  fire  ascending  by  its  natural 
property,  then  the  heads  of  Perseus  and  Medusa  will  come 
out  admirably;  you  may  be  quite  sure  of  it."  After  I  had 
thus  expounded  these  convincing  arguments,  together  with 
many  more  of  the  same  kind,  which  it  would  be  tedious  to 
set  down  here,  the  Duke  shook  his  head  and  departed  with- 
out further  ceremony. 

LXXV 

Abandoned  thus  to  my  own  resources,  I  took  new  courage, 
and  banished  the  sad  thoughts  which  kept  recurring  to  my 
mind,  making  me  often  weep  bitter  tears  of  repentance  for 
having  left  France;  for  though  I  did  so  only  to  revisit  Flor- 
ence, my  sweet  birthplace,  in  order  that  I  might  charitably 


MEMOIRS  359 

succour  my  six  nieces,  this  good  action,  as  I  well  perceived, 
had  been  the  beginning  of  my  great  misfortune.  Neverthe- 
less, I  felt  convinced  that  when  my  Perseus  was  accom- 
plished, all  these  trials  would  be  turned  to  high  felicity  and 
glorious  well-being. 

Accordingly  I  strengthened  my  heart,  and  with  all  the 
forces  of  my  body  and  my  purse,  employing  what  little  money 
still  remained  to  me,  I  set  to  work.  First  I  provided  myself 
with  several  loads  of  pinewood  from  the  forests  of  Serristori, 
in  the  neighbourhood  of  Montelupo.  While  these  were  on 
their  way,  I  clothed  my  Perseus  with  the  clay  which  I  had 
prepared  many  months  beforehand,  in  order  that  it  might 
be  duly  seasoned.  After  making  its  clay  tunic  (for  that  is  the 
term  used  in  this  art)  and  properly  arming  it  and  fencing  it 
with  iron  girders,  I  began  to  draw  the  w^ax  out  by  means  of  a 
slow  fire.  This  melted  and  issued  through  numerous  air- 
vents  I  had  made;  for  the  more  there  are  of  these,  the  better 
will  the  mould  fill.  When  I  had  finished  drawing  off  the  wax, 
I  constructed  a  funnel-shaped  furnace  all  round  the  model 
of  my  Perseus.^  It  was  built  of  bricks,  so  interlaced,  the  one 
above  the  other,  that  numerous  apertures  were  left  for  the 
fire  to  exhale  at.  Then  I  began  to  lay  on  wood  by  degrees, 
and  kept  it  burning  two  whole  days  and  nights.  At  length, 
when  all  the  wax  was  gone,  and  the  mould  was  well  baked,  I 
set  to  work  at  digging  the  pit  in  which  to  sink  it.  This  I 
performed  with  scrupulous  regard  to  all  the  rules  of  art. 
When  I  had  finished  that  part  of  my  work,  I  raised  the  mould 
by  windlasses  and  stout  ropes  to  a  perpendicular  position, 
and  suspending  it  v/ith  the  greatest  care  one  cubit  above  the 
level  of  the  furnace,  so  that  it  hung  exactly  above  the  middle 
of  the  pit,  I  next  lowered  it  gently  down  into  the  very  bottom 
of  the  furnace,  and  had  it  firmly  placed  with  every  possible 
precaution  for  its  safety.  When  this  delicate  operation  w'as 
accomplished,  I  began  to  bank  it  up  with  the  earth  I  had  ex- 
cavated; and,  ever  as  the  earth  grew  higher,  I  introduced  its 
proper  air-vents,  which  w^ere  little  tubes  of  earthenware,  such 
as  folk  use  for  drains  and  such-like  purposes.^     At  length, 

*  This  furnace  was  like  a  grain-hopper,  so  that  the  mould  could  stand 
upright  in  it  as  in  a  cup. 

'  These  air-vents  were  introduced  into  the  outer  mould,  which  Cellini 
calls  the  tonaca,  or  clay  tunic  laid  upon  the  original  model  of  baked  clay 
and  wax.    They  served  the  double  purpose  of  drawing  off  the  wax,  where- 


36o 


CELLINI 


I  felt  sure  that  it  was  admirably  fixed,  and  that  the  filling-in 
of  the  pit  and  the  placing  of  the  air-vents  had  been  properly 
performed.  I  also  could  see  that  my  workpeople  understood 
my  method,  which  differed  very  considerably  from  that  of 
all  the  other  masters  in  the  trade.  Feeling  confident,  then, 
that  I  could  rely  upon  them,  I  next  turned  to  my  furnace, 
which  I  had  filled  with  numerous  pigs  of  copper  and  other 
bronze  stuff.  The  pieces  were  piled  according  to  the  laws 
of  art,  that  is  to  say,  so  resting  one  upon  the  other  that  the 
flames  could  play  freely  through  them,  in  order  that  the  metal 
might  heat  and  liquefy  the  sooner.  At  last  I  called  out 
heartily  to  set  the  furnace  going.  The  logs  of  pine  were 
heaped  in,  and,  what  with  the  unctuous  resin  of  the  wood 
and  the  good  draught  I  had  given,  my  furnace  worked  so 
•well  that  I  was  obliged  to  rush  from  side  to  side  to  keep  it 
going.  The  labour  was  more  than  I  could  stand;  yet  I  forced 
myself  to  strain  every  nerve  and  muscle.  To  increase  my 
anxieties,  the  workshop  took  fire,  and  we  were  afraid  lest  the 
roof  should  fall  upon  our  heads;  while,  from  the  garden,  such 
a  storm  of  wind  and  rain  kept  blowing  in,  that  it  perceptibly 
cooled  the  furnace. 

Battling  thus  with  all  these  untoward  circumstances  for 
several  hours,  and  exerting  myself  beyond  even  the  measure 
of  my  powerful  constitution,  I  could  at  last  bear  up  no  longer, 
and  a  sudden  fever,  of  the  utmost  possible  intensity,  attacked 
me.  I  felt  absolutely  obliged  to  go  and  fling  myself  upon  my 
bed.  Sorely  against  my  will  having  to  drag  myself  away  from 
the  spot,  I  turned  to  my  assistants,  about  ten  or  more  in  all, 
what  with  master-founders,  hand-workers,  country-fellows, 
and  my  own  special  journeymen,  among  whom  was  Bernar- 
dino Mannellini  of  Mugello,  my  apprentice  through  several 
years.  To  him  in  particular  I  spoke :  "  Look,  my  dear  Ber- 
nardino, that  you  observe  the  rules  which  I  have  taught  you; 
do  your  best  with  all  despatch,  for  the  metal  will  soon  be 
fused.  You  can  not  go  wrong;  these  honest  men  will  get 
the  channels  ready;  you  will  easily  be  able  to  drive  back  the 
two  plugs  with  this  pair  of  iron  crooks;  and  I  am  sure  that 
my  mould  will  fill  miraculously.     I  feel  more  ill  than  I  ever 

by  a  space  was  left  for  the  molten  bronze  to  enter,  and  also  of  facilitating 
the  penetration  of  this  molten  metal  by  allowing  a  free  escape  of  air  and 
gas  from  the  outer  mould. 


MEMOIRS  361 

did  in  all  my  life,  and  verily  believe  that  it  will  kill  me  before 
a  few  hours  are  over."  ^  Thus,  with  despair  at  heart,  I  left 
them,  and  betook  myself  to  bed. 

LXXVI 

No  sooner  had  I  got  to  bed,  than  I  ordered  my  serving- 
maids  to  carry  food  and  wine  for  all  the  men  into  the  work- 
shop; at  the  same  time  I  cried:  "  I  shall  not  be  alive  to- 
morrow." They  tried  to  encourage  me,  arguing  that  my  ill- 
ness would  pass  over,  since  it  came  from  excessive  fatigue. 
In  this  way  I  spent  two  hours  battling  with  the  fever,  which 
steadily  increased,  and  calling  out  continually:  "  I  feel  that  I 
am  dying."  My  housekeeper,  who  was  named  Mona  Fiore 
da  Castel  del  Rio,  a  very  notable  manager  and  no  less  warm- 
hearted, kept  chiding  me  for  my  discouragement;  but,  on 
the  other  hand,  she  paid  me  every  kind  attention  which  was 
possible.  However,  the  sight  of  my  physical  pain  and  moral 
dejection  so  afifected  her,  that,  in  spite  of  that  brave  heart  of 
hers,  she  could  not  refrain  from  shedding  tears;  and  yet,  so 
far  as  she  was  able,  she  took  good  care  I  should  not  see  them. 
While  I  was  thus  terribly  afflicted,  I  beheld  the  figure  of  a 
man  enter  my  chamber,  twisted  in  his  body  into  the  form  of  a 
capital  S.  He  raised  a  lamentable,  doleful  voice,  like  one  who 
announces  their  last  hour  to  men  condemned  to  die  upon  the 
scaffold,  and  spoke  these  words:  "  O  Benvenuto!  your  statue 
is  spoiled,  and  there  is  no  hope  whatever  of  saving  it."  No 
sooner  had  I  heard  the  shriek  of  that  wretch  than  I  gave  a 
howl  which  might  have  been  heard  from  the  sphere  of  flame. 
Jumping  from  my  bed,  I  seized  my  clothes  and  began  to  dress. 
The  maids,  and  my  lad,  and  every  one  who  came  around  to 
help  me,  got  kicks  or  blows  of  the  fist,  v/hile  I  kept  crying 

'  Some  technical  terms  require  explanation  in  this  sentence.  The 
channels  were  sluices  for  carrying  the  molten  metal  from  the  furnace 
into  the  mould.  The  crooks  were  poles  fitted  at  the  end  with  curved 
irons,  by  which  the  openings  of  the  furnace,  plugs  could  be  partly  or 
wholly  driven  back,  so  as  to  let  the  molten  metal  flow  through  the  chan- 
nels into  the  mould.  When  the  metal  reached  the  mould,  it  entered  in  a 
red-hot  stream  between  the  mould  and  the  inner  block,  filling  up  exactly 
the  space  which  had  previously  been  occupied  by  the  wax  extracted  by  a 
method  of  slow  burning  alluded  to  above.  The  mould  consisted  of  two 
pieces :  one  hollow,  which  gave  shape  to  the  bronze ;  one  solid  and 
rounded,  which  stood  at  a  short  interval  within  the  former,  and  regulated 
the  influx  of  the  metal. 
24 


362 


CELLINI 


out  in  lamentation:  "  Ah!  traitors!  enviers!  This  is  an  act  of 
treason,  done  by  maHce  prepense!  But  I  swear  by  God  that 
I  will  sift  it  to  the  bottom,  and  before  I  die  will  leave  such 
witness  to  the  world  of  what  I  can  do  as  shall  make  a  score  of 
mortals  marvel." 

When  I  had  got  my  clothes  on,  I  strode  with  soul  bent  on 
mischief  toward  the  workshop;  there  I  beheld  the  men,  whom 
I  had  left  erewhile  in  such  high  spirits,  standing  stupefied 
and  downcast.  I  began  at  once  and  spoke:  "Up  with  you! 
Attend  to  me!  Since  you  have  not  been  able  or  willing  to 
obey  the  directions  I  gave  you,  obey  me  now  that  I  am  with 
you  to  conduct  my  work  in  person.  Let  no  one  contradict 
me,  for  in  cases  like  this  we  need  the  aid  of  hand  and  hearing, 
not  of  advice."  When  I  had  uttered  these  words,  a  certain 
Maestro  Alessandro  Lastricati  broke  silence  and  said:  "  Look 
you,  Benvenuto,  you  are  going  to  attempt  an  enterprise  which 
the  laws  of  art  do  not  sanction,  and  which  can  not  succeed." 
I  turned  upon  him  with  such  fury  and  so  full  of  mischief,  that 
he  and  all  the  rest  of  them  exclaimed  with  one  voice:  "  On 
then!  Give  orders!  We  will  obey  your  least  commands,  so 
long  as  life  is  left  in  us."  I  believe  they  spoke  thus  feelingly 
because  they  thought  I  must  fall  shortly  dead  upon  the 
ground.  I  went  immediately  to  inspect  the  furnace,  and  found 
that  the  metal  was  all  curdled;  an  accident  which  we  ex- 
press by  "  being  caked."  I  told  two  of  the  hands  to  cross 
the  road,  and  fetch  from  the  house  of  the  butcher  Capretta 
a  load  of  young  oak-wood,  which  had  lain  dry  for  above  a 
year;  this  wood  had  been  previously  offered  me  by  Madame 
Ginevra,  wife  of  the  said  Capretta.  So  soon  as  the  first  arm- 
fuls  arrived,  I  began  to  fill  the  grate  beneath  the  furnace.  Now 
oak-wood  of  that  kind  heats  more  powerfully  than  any  other 
sort  of  tree;  and  for  this  reason,  where  a  slow  fire  is  wanted, 
as  in  the  case  of  gun-foundry,  alder  or  pine  is  preferred.  Ac- 
cordingly, when  the  logs  took  fire,  oh!  how  the  cake  began 
to  stir  beneath  that  awful  heat,  to  glow  and  sparkle  in  a  blaze! 
At  the  same  time  I  kept  stirring  up  the  channels,  and  sent 
men  upon  the  roof  to  stop  the  conflagration,  which  had  gath- 
ered force  from  the  increased  combustion  in  the  furnace;  also 
I  caused  boards,  carpets,  and  other  hangings  to  be  set  up 
against  the  garden,  in  order  to  protect  us  from  the  violence 
of  the  rain. 


MEMOIRS 


363 


LXXVII 

When  I  had  thus  provided  against  these  several  disasters, 
I  roared  out  first  to  one  man  and  then  to  another:  "  Bring 
this  thing  here!  Take  that  thing  there!  "  At  this  crisis,  when 
the  whole  gang  saw  the  cake  was  on  the  point  of  melting, 
they  did  my  bidding,  each  fellow  working  with  the  strength 
of  three.  I  then  ordered  half  a  pig  of  pewter  to  be  brought, 
which  weighed  about  sixty  pounds,  and  flung  it  into  the  mid- 
dle of  the  cake  inside  the  furnace.  By  this  means,  and  by  our 
piling  on  wood  and  stirring  now  with  pokers  and  now  with 
iron  rods,  the  curdled  mass  rapidly  began  to  liquefy.  Then, 
knowing  I  had  brought  the  dead  to  life  again,  against  the 
firm  opinion  of  those  ignoramuses,  I  felt  such  vigour  fill  my 
veins,  that  a41  those  pains  of  fever,  all  those  fears  of  death, 
were  quite  forgotten. 

All  of  a  sudden  an  explosion  took  place,  attended  by  a 
tremendous  flash  of  flame,  as  though  a  thunderbolt  had 
formed  and  been  discharged  amongst  us.  Unwonted  and  ap- 
palling terror  astonished  every  one,  and  me  more  even  than 
the  rest.  When  the  din  was  over  and  the  dazzling  light  ex- 
tinguished, we  began  to  look  each  other  in  the  face.  Then 
I  discovered  that  the  cap  of  the  furnace  had  blown  up,  and 
the  bronze  was  bubbling  over  from  its  source  beneath.  So  I 
had  the  mouths  of  my  mould  immediately  opened,  and  at 
the  same  time  drove  in  the  two  plugs  which  kept  back  the 
molten  metal.  But  I  noticed  that  it  did  not  flow  as  rapidly 
as  usual,  the  reason  being  probably  that  the  fierce  heat  of 
the  fire  we  kindled  had  consumed  its  base  alloy.  Accordingly 
I  sent  for  all  my  pewter  platters,  porringers,  and  dishes,  to 
the  number  of  some  two  hundred  pieces,  and  had  a  portion  of 
them  cast,  one  by  one,  into  the  channels,  the  rest  into  the 
furnace.  This  expedient  succeeded,  and  every  one  could  now 
perceive  that  my  bronze  was  in  most  perfect  liquefaction,  and 
my  mould  was  filling;  whereupon  they  all  with  heartiness  and 
happy  cheer  assisted  and  obeyed  my  bidding,  while  I,  now 
here,  now  there,  gave  orders,  helped  with  my  own  hands,  and 
cried  aloud:  "  O  God!  Thou  that  by  Thy  immeasurable  power 
didst  rise  from  the  dead,  and  in  Thy  glory  didst  ascend  to 
heaven !  "  .  .  .  even  thus  in  a  moment  my  mould  was  filled ; 
and  seeing  my  work  finished,  I  fell  upon  my  knees,  and  with 
all  my  heart  gave  thanks  to  God. 


3^4 


CELLINI 


After  all  was  over,  I  turned  to  a  plate  of  salad  on  a  bench 
there,  and  ate  with  hearty  appetite,  and  drank  together  with 
the  whole  crew.  Afterward  I  retired  to  bed,  healthy  and 
happy,  for  it  was  now  two  hours  before  morning,  and  slept 
as  sweetly  as  though  I  had  never  felt  a  touch  of  illness.  My 
good  housekeeper,  without  my  giving  any  orders,  had  pre- 
pared a  fat  capon  for  my  repast.  So  that,  when  I  rose,  about 
the  hour  for  breaking  fast,  she  presented  herself  with  a  smil- 
ing countenance,  and  said :  "  Oh !  is  that  the  man  who  felt 
that  he  was  dying?  Upon  my  word,  I  think  the  blows  and 
kicks  you  dealt  us  last  night,  when  you  were  so  enraged,  and 
had  that  demon  in  your  body  as  it  seemed,  must  have  fright- 
ened away  your  mortal  fever!  The  fever  feared  that  it  might 
catch  it  too,  as  we  did!  "  All  my  poor  household,  relieved  in 
like  measure  from  anxiety  and  overwhelming  labour,  went 
at  once  to  buy  earthen  vessels  in  order  to  replace  the  pewter 
I  had  cast  away.  Then  we  dined  together  joyfully;  nay,  I 
can  not  remember  a  day  in  my  whole  life  when  I  dined  with 
greater  gladness  or  a  better  appetite. 

After  our  meal  I  received  visits  from  the  several  men  who 
had  assisted  me.  They  exchanged  congratulations,  and 
thanked  God  for  our  success,  saying  they  had  learned  and 
seen  things  done  which  other  masters  judged  impossible.  I 
too  grew  somewhat  glorious;  and  deeming  I  had  shown  my- 
self a  man  of  talent,  indulged  a  boastful  humour.  So  I  thrust 
my  hand  into  my  purse,  and  paid  them  all  to  their  full  satis- 
faction. 

That  evil  fellow,  my  mortal  foe,  Messer  Pier  Francesco 
Ricci,  majordomo  of  the  Duke,  took  great  pains  to  find  out 
how  the  affair  had  gone.  In  answer  to  his  questions,  the  two 
men  whom  I  suspected  of  having  caked  my  metal  for  me, 
said  I  was  no  man,  but  of  a  certainty  some  powerful  devil, 
since  I  had  accomplished  what  no  craft  of  the  art  could  do; 
indeed  they  did  not  believe  a  mere  ordinary  fiend  could  work 
such  miracles  as  I  in  other  ways  had  shown.  They  exag- 
gerated the  whole  affair  so  much,  possibly  in  order  to  excuse 
their  own  part  in  it,  that  the  majordomo  wrote  an  account  to 
the  Duke,  who  was  then  in  Pisa,  far  more  marvellous  and  full 
of  thrilling  incidents  than  what  they  had  narrated. 


MEMOIRS  365 

LXXVIII 

After  I  had  let  my  statue  cool  for  two  whole  days,  I  began 
to  uncover  it  by  slow  degrees.  The  first  thing  I  found  was 
that  the  head  of  Medusa  had  come  out  most  admirably,  thanks 
to  the  air-vents;  for,  as  I  had  told  the  Duke,  it  is  the  nature 
of  fire  to  ascend.  Upon  advancing  farther,  I  discovered  that 
the  other  head,  that,  namely,  of  Perseus,  had  succeeded  no 
less  admirably;  and  this  astonished  me  far  more,  because  it 
is  at  a  considerably  lower  level  than  that  of  the  Medusa.  Now 
the  mouths  of  the  mould  were  placed  above  the  head  of  Per- 
seus and  behind  his  shoulders;  and  I  found  that  all  the  bronze 
my  furnace  contained  had  been  exhausted  in  the  head  of  this 
figure.  It  was  a  miracle  to  observe  that  not  one  fragment 
remained  in  the  orifice  of  the  channel,  and  that  nothing  was 
wanting  to  the  statue.  In  my  great  astojiishment  I  seemed 
to  see  in  this  the  hand  of  God  arranging  and  controlling  all. 

I  went  on  uncovering  the  statue  with  success,  and  ascer- 
tained that  everything  had  come  out  in  perfect  order,  until  I 
reached  the  foot  of  the  right  leg  on  which  the  statue  rests. 
There  the  heel  itself  was  formed,  and  going  farther,  I  found 
the  foot  apparently  complete.  This  gave  me  great  joy  on  the 
one  side,  but  was  half  unwelcome  to  me  on  the  other,  merely 
because  I  had  told  the  Duke  that  it  could  not  come  out. 
However,  when  I  reached  the  end,  it  appeared  that  the  toes 
and  a  little  piece  above  them  were  unfinished,  so  that  about 
half  the  foot  was  wanting.  Although  I  knew  that  this  would 
add  a  trifle  to  my  labour,  I  was  very  well  pleased,  because  I 
could  now  prove  to  the  Duke  how  well  I  understood  my  busi- 
ness. It  is  true  that  far  more  of  the  foot  than  I  expected  had 
been  perfectly  formed;  the  reason  of  this  was  that,  from  causes 
I  have  recently  described,  the  bronze  was  hotter  than  our  rules 
of  art  prescribe;  also  that  I  had  been  obliged  to  supplement 
the  alloy  with  my  pewter  cups  and  platters,  which  no  one  else, 
I  think,  had  ever  done  before. 

Having  now  ascertained  how  successfully  my  work  had 
been  accomplished,  I  lost  no  time  in  hurrying  to  Pisa,  where 
I  found  the  Duke.  He  gave  me  a  most  gracious  reception, 
as  did  also  the  Duchess;  and  although  the  majordomo  had 
informed  them  of  the  whole  proceedings,  their  Excellencies 
deemed  my  performance  far  more  stupendous  and  astonish- 


366 


CELLINI 


ing  when  they  heard  the  tale  from  my  own  mouth.  When  I 
arrived  at  the  foot  of  Perseus,  and  said  it  had  not  come  out 
perfect,  just  as  I  previously  warned  his  Excellency,  I  saw  an 
expression  of  wonder  pass  over  his  face,  while  he  related  to 
the  Duchess  how  I  had  predicted  this  beforehand.  Observ- 
ing the  princes  to  be  so  well  disposed  toward  me,  I  begged 
leave  from  the  Duke  to  go  to  Rome.  He  granted  it  in  most 
obliging  terms,  and  bade  me  return  as  soon  as  possible  to 
complete  his  Perseus;  giving  me  letters  of  recommendation 
meanwhile  to  his  ambassador,  Averardo  Serristori.  We  were 
then  in  the  first  years  of  Pope  Giulio  de  Monti.^ 

LXXIX 

Before  leaving  home,  I  directed  my  workpeople  to  pro- 
ceed according  to  the  method  I  had  taught  them.  The  reason 
of  my  journey  was  as  follows.  I  had  made  a  life-sized  bust  in 
bronze  of  Bindo  Altoviti,^  the  son  of  Antonio,  and  had  sent 
it  to  him  at  Rome.  He  set  it  up  in  his  study,  which  was  very 
richly  adorned  with  antiquities  and  other  works  of  art;  but 
the  room  was  not  designed  for  statues  or  for  paintings,  since 
the  windows  were  too  low,  so  that  the  light  coming  from 
beneath  spoiled  the  effect  they  would  have  produced  under 
more  favourable  conditions.  It  happened  one  day  that  Bindo 
was  standing  at  his  door,  when  Michel  Agnolo  Buonarroti, 
the  sculptor,  passed  by;  so  he  begged  him  to  come  in  and 
see  his  study.  Michel  Agnolo  followed,  and  on  entering  the 
room  and  looking  round,  he  exclaimed:  "  Who  is  the  master 
who  made  that  good  portrait  of  you  in  so  fine  a  manner?  You 
must  know  that  that  bust  pleases  me  as  much,  or  even  more, 
than  those  antiques;  and  yet  there  are  many  fine  things  to 
be  seen  among  the  latter.  If  those  windows  were  above  in- 
stead of  beneath,  the  whole  collection  would  show  to  greater 
advantage,  and  your  portrait,  placed  among  so  many  master- 
pieces, would  hold  its  own  with  credit."  No  sooner  had 
Michel  Agnolo  left  the  house  of  Bindo  than  he  wrote  me  a 
very  kind  letter,  which  ran  as  follows:  "  My  dear  Benvenuto, 

'  Gio  Maria  del  Monte  Sansovino  was  elected  Pope,  with  the  title  of 
Julius  III,  in  February,  1550. 

*  This  man  was  a  member  of  a  very  noble  Florentine  family.  Born  in 
I4v-)i,  he  was  at  this  epoch  Tuscan  Consul  in  Rome.  Cellini's  bust  of  him 
still  exists  in  the  Palazzo  Altoviti  at  Rome. 


MEMOIRS  367 

I  have  known  you  for  many  years  as  the  greatest  goldsmith 
of  whom  we  have  any  information;  and  henceforward  I  shall 
know  you  for  a  sculptor  of  like  quality.  I  must  tell  you  that 
Master  Bindo  Altoviti  took  me  to  see  his  bust  in  bronze, 
and  informed  me  that  you  had  made  it.  I  was  greatly  pleased 
with  the  work;  but  it  annoyed  me  to  notice  that  it  was  placed 
in  a  bad  light;  for  if  it  were  suitably  illuminated,  it  would 
show  itself  to  be  the  fine  performance  that  it  is."  This  letter 
abounded  with  the  most  affectionate  and  complimentary  ex- 
pressions toward  myself;  and  before  I  left  for  Rome,  I  showed 
it  to  the  Duke,  who  read  it  with  much  kindly  interest,  and 
said  to  me:  "  Benvenuto,  if  you  write  to  him,  and  can  per- 
suade him  to  return  to  Florence,  I  will  make  him  a  member 
of  the  Forty-eight."  ^  Accordingly  I  wrote  a  letter  full  of 
warmth,  and  offered  in  the  Duke's  name  a  hundred  times 
more  than  my  commission  carried;  but  not  wanting  to  make 
any  mistake,  I  showed  this  to  the  Duke  before  I  sealed  it, 
saying  to  his  most  illustrious  Excellency:  "Prince,  perhaps 
I  have  made  him  too  many  promises."  He  replied:  "  Michel 
Agnolo  deserves  more  than  you  have  promised,  and  I  will 
bestow  on  him  still  greater  favours."  To  this  letter  he  sent 
no  answer,  and  I  could  see  that  the  Duke  was  much  offended 

with  him. 

LXXX 

When  I  reached  Rome,  I  went  to  lodge  in  Bindo  Altoviti's 
house.  He  told  me  at  once  how  he  had  shown  his  bronze 
bust  to  Michel  Agnolo,  and  how  the  latter  had  praised  it.  So 
we  spoke  for  some  length  upon  this  topic.  I  ought  to  narrate 
the  reasons  why  I  had  taken  this  portrait.  Bindo  had  in  his 
hands  1200  golden  crowns  of  mine,  which  formed  part  of  5000 
he  had  lent  the  Duke;  4000  were  his  own,  and  mine  stood  in 
his  name,  while  I  received  that  portion  of  the  interest  which 
accrued  to  me.  This  led  to  my  taking  his  portrait;  and  when 
he  saw  the  wax  model  for  the  bust,  he  sent  me  fifty  golden 
scudi  by  a  notary  in  his  employ,  named  Ser  Giuliano  Paccalli. 
I  did  not  want  to  take  the  money,  so  I  sent  it  back  to  him 
by  the  same  hand,  saying  at  a  later  time  to  Bindo:  "  I  shall 
be  satisfied  if  you  keep  that  sum  of  mine  for  me  at  interest, 

'  This  was  one  of  the  three  Councils  created  by  Clement  VII  in  1532, 
when  he  changed  the  Florentine  constitution.  It  corresponded  to  a 
Senate. 


368  CELLINI 

so  that  I  may  gain  a  little  on  it."  When  we  came  to  square 
accounts  on  this  occasion,  I  observed  that  he  was  ill  disposed 
toward  me,  since,  instead  of  treating  me  affectionately,  ac- 
cording to  his  previous  wont,  he  put  on  a  stiff  air;  and  al- 
though I  was  staying  in  his  house,  he  was  never  good- 
humoured,  but  always  surly.  However,  we  settled  our  busi- 
ness in  a  few  words.  I  sacrificed  my  pay  for  his  portrait, 
together  with  the  bronze,  and  we  arranged  that  he  should 
keep  my  money  at  15  per  cent,  during  my  natural  life. 

LXXXI 

One  of  the  first  things  I  did  was  to  go  and  kiss  the  Pope's 
feet;  and  while  I  was  speaking  with  his  Holiness,  Messer 
Averardo  Serristori,  our  Duke's  envoy,  arrived.  I  had  made 
some  proposals  to  the  Pope,  which  I  think  he  would  have 
agreed  upon,  and  I  should  have  been  very  glad  to  return  to 
Rome  on  account  of  the  great  difficulties  which  I  had  at  Flor- 
ence. But  I  soon  perceived  that  the  ambassador  had  coun- 
termined me. 

Then  I  went  to  visit  Michel  Agnolo  Buonarroti,  and  re- 
peated what  I  had  written  from  Florence  to  him  in  the  Duke's 
name.  He  replied  that  he  was  engaged  upon  the  fabric  of 
S.  Peter's,  and  that  this  would  prevent  him  from  leaving 
Rome.  I  rejoined  that,  as  he  had  decided  on  the  model  of 
that  building,  he  could  leave  its  execution  to  his  man  Urbino, 
who  would  carry  out  his  orders  to  the  letter.  I  added  much 
about  future  favours,  in  the  form  of  a  message  from  the  Duke. 
Upon  this  he  looked  me  hard  in  the  face,  and  said  with  a  sar- 
castic smile:  "  And  you!  to  what  extent  are  you  satisfied  with 
him?"  Although  I  replied  that  I  was  extremely  contented 
and  was  very  well  treated  by  his  Excellency,  he  showed  that 
he  was  acquainted  with  the  greater  part  of  my  annoyances, 
and  gave  as  his  final  answer  that  it  would  be  difficult  for  him 
to  leave  Rome.  To  this  I  added  that  he  could  not  do  better 
than  to  return  to  his  own  land,  which  was  governed  by  a 
prince  renowned  for  justice,  and  the  greatest  lover  of  the  arts 
and  sciences  who  ever  saw  the  light  of  this  world.  As  I  have 
remarked  above,  he  had  with  him  a  servant  of  his  who  came 
from  Urbino,  and  had  lived  many  years  in  his  employment, 
rather  as  valet  and  housekeeper  than  anything  else;  this  in- 
deed was  obvious,  because  he  had  acquired  no  skill  in  the 


MEMOIRS  369 

arts.    Consequently,  while  I  was  pressing  Michel  Agnolo  with 

arguments  he  could  not  answer,  he  turned  round  sharply  to 

Urbino,  as  though  to  ask  him  his  opinion.    The  fellow  began 

to  bawl  out  in  his  rustic  way:  "  I  will  never  leave  my  master 

Michel  Agnolo's  side  till  I  shall  have  flayed  him  or  he  shall 

have  flayed  me."     These  stupid  words  forced  me  to  laugh, 

and  without  saying  farewell,   I   lowered   my   shoulders  and 

retired. 

LXXXII 

The  miserable  bargain  I  had  made  with  Bindo  Altoviti, 
losing  my  bust  and  leaving  him  my  capital  for  life,  taught 
me  what  the  faith  of  merchants  is;  so  I  returned  in  bad  spirits 
to  Florence.  I  went  at  once  to  the  palace  to  pay  my  respects 
to  the  Duke,  whom  I  found  to  be  at  Castello  beyond  Ponte 
a  Rifredi.  In  the  palace  I  met  Messer  Pier  Francesco  Ricci, 
the  majordomo,  and  when  I  drew  nigh  to  pay  him  the  usual 
compliments,  he  exclaimed  with  measureless  astonishment: 
"  Oh,  are  you  come  back?  "  and  with  the  same  air  of  surprise, 
clapping  his  hands  together,  he  cried:  "  The  Duke  is  at  Cas- 
tello! "  then  turned  his  back  and  left  me.  I  could  not  form 
the  least  idea  why  the  beast  behaved  in  such  an  extraordinary 
manner  to  me. 

Proceeding  at  once  to  Castello,  and  entering  the  garden 
where  the  Duke  was,  I  caught  sight  of  him  at  a  distance; 
but  no  sooner  had  he  seen  me  than  he  showed  signs  of  sur- 
prise, and  intimated  that  I  might  go  about  my  business.  I 
had  been  reckoning  that  his  Excellency  would  treat  me  with 
the  same  kindness,  or  even  greater,  as  before  I  left  for  Rome; 
so  now,  when  he  received  me  with  such  rudeness,  I  went 
back,  much  hurt,  to  Florence.  While  resuming  my  work  and 
pushing  my  statue  forward,  I  racked  my  brains  to  think  what 
could  have  brought  about  this  sudden  change  in  the  Duke's 
manner.  The  curious  way  in  which  Messer  Sforza  and  some 
other  gentlemen  close  to  his  Excellency's  person  eyed  me, 
prompted  me  to  ask  the  former  what  the  matter  was.  He 
only  replied  with  a  sort  of  smile:  "  Benvenuto,  do  your  best 
to  be  an  honest  man,  and  have  no  concern  for  anything  else." 
A  few  days  afterward  I  obtained  an  audience  of  the  Duke, 
who  received  me  with  a  kind  of  grudging  grace,  and  asked 
me  what  I  had  been  doing  at  Rome.  To  the  best  of  my  abil- 
ity I  maintained  the  conversation,  and  told  him  the  whole 


270  CELLINI 

story  about  Bindo  Altoviti's  bust.  It  was  evident  that  he 
Hstened  with  attention;  so  I  went  on  talking  about  Michel 
Agnolo  Buonarroti.  At  this  he  showed  displeasure;  but 
Urbino's  stupid  speech  about  the  flaying  made  him  laugh 
aloud.  Then  he  said:  "Well,  it  is  he  who  suffers!"  and  I 
took  my  leave. 

There  can  be  no  doubt  that  Ser  Pier  Francesco,  the  major- 
domo,  must  have  served  me  some  ill  turn  with  the  Duke, 
which  did  not,  however,  succeed;  for  God,  who  loves  the 
truth,  protected  me,  as  He  hath  ever  saved  me,  from  a  sea 
of  dreadful  dangers,  and  I  hope  will  save  me  till  the  end  of 
this  my  life,  however  full  of  trials  it  may  be.  I  march  for- 
ward, therefore,  with  a  good  heart,  sustained  alone  by  His 
divine  power;  nor  let  myself  be  terrified  by  any  furious  as- 
sault of  fortune  or  my  adverse  stars.  May  only  God  main- 
tain me  in  His  grace! 

LXXXIII 

I  must  beg  your  attention  now,  most  gracious  reader,  for 
a  very  terrible  event  which  happened. 

I  used  the  utmost  diligence  and  industry  to  complete  my 
statue,  and  went  to  spend  my  evenings  in  the  Duke's  ward- 
robe, assisting  there  the  goldsmiths  who  were  working  for 
his  Excellency.  Indeed,  they  laboured  mainly  on  designs 
which  I  had  given  them.  Noticing  that  the  Duke  took  pleas- 
ure in  seeing  me  at  work  and  talking  with  me,  I  took  it  into 
my  head  to  go  there  sometimes  also  by  day.  It  happened 
upon  one  of  those  days  that  his  Excellency  came  as  usual  to 
the  room  where  I  was  occupied,  and  more  particularly  be- 
cause he  heard  of  my  arrival.  His  Excellency  entered  at 
once  into  conversation,  raising  several  interesting  topics,  upon 
which  I  gave  my  views  so  much  to  his  entertainment  that  he 
showed  more  cheerfulness  than  I  had  ever  seen  in  him  be- 
fore. All  of  a  sudden,  one  of  his  secretaries  appeared,  and 
whispered  something  of  importance  in  his  ear;  whereupon 
the  Duke  rose,  and  retired  with  the  ofhcial  into  another  cham- 
ber. Now  the  Duchess  had  sent  to  see  what  his  Excellency 
was  doing,  and  her  page  brought  back  this  answer:  "The 
Duke  is  talking  and  laughing  with  Benvenuto,  and  is  in  ex- 
cellent good-humour."  When  the  Duchess  heard  this,  she 
came  immediately  to  the  wardrobe,  and  not  finding  the  Duke 
there,  took  a  seat  beside  us.     After  watching  us  at  work  a 


MEMOIRS  371 

while,  she  turned  to  me  with  the  utmost  graciousness,  and 
showed  me  a  necklace  of  large  and  really  very  fine  pearls. 
On  being  asked  by  her  what  I  thought  of  them,  I  said  it  was 
in  truth  a  very  handsome  ornament.  Then  she  spoke  as  fol- 
lows: "  I  should  like  the  Duke  to  buy  them  for  me;  so  I  beg 
you,  my  dear  Benvenuto,  to  praise  them  to  him  as  highly  as 
you  can."  At  these  words  I  disclosed  my  mind  to  the  Duch- 
ess with  all  the  respect  I  could,  and  answered:  "  My  lady,  I 
thought  this  necklace  of  pearls  belonged  already  to  your  most 
illustrious  Excellency.  Now  that  I  am  aware  you  have  not 
yet  acquired  them,  it  is  right,  nay,  more,  it  is  my  duty  to  utter 
what  I  might  otherwise  have  refrained  from  saying,  namely, 
that  my  mature  professional  experience  enables  me  to  detect 
very  grave  faults  in  the  pearls,  and  for  this  reason  I  could 
never  advise  your  Excellency  to  purchase  them."  She  re- 
plied: "The  merchant  ofifers  them  for  six  thousand  crowns; 
and  were  it  not  for  some  of  those  trifling  defects  you  speak 
of,  the  rope  would  be  worth  over  twelve  thousand."  To  this 
I  replied,  that  "  even  were  the  necklace  of  quite  flawless  qual- 
ity, I  could  not  advise  any  one  to  bid  up  to  five  thousand 
crowns  for  it;  for  pearls  are  not  gems;  pearls  are  but  fishes' 
bones,  which  in  the  course  of  time  must  lose  their  freshness. 
Diamonds,  rubies,  emeralds,  and  sapphires,  on  the  contrary, 
never  grow  old;  these  four  are  precious  stones,  and  these  it 
is  quite  right  to  purchase."  When  I  had  thus  spoken,  the 
Duchess  showed  some  signs  of  irritation,  and  exclaimed:  "  I 
have  a  mind  to  possess  these  pearls;  so,  prithee,  take  them  to 
the  Duke,  and  praise  them  up  to  the  skies;  even  if  you  have 
to  use  some  words  beyond  the  bounds  of  truth,  speak  them 
to  do  me  service;  it  will  be  well  for  you!  " 

I  have  always  been  the  greatest  friend  of  truth  and  foe  of 
lies:  yet,  compelled  by  necessity,  unwilling  to  lose  the  favour 
of  so  great  a  princess,  I  took  those  confounded  pearls  sorely 
against  my  inclination,  and  went  with  them  over  to  the  other 
room,  whither  the  Duke  had  withdrawn.  No  sooner  did  he 
set  eyes  upon  me  than  he  cried:  "O  Benvenuto!  what  are 
you  about  here?"  I  uncovered  the  pearls  and  said:  "My 
lord,  I  am  come  to  show  you  a  most  splendid  necklace  of 
pearls,  of  the  rarest  quality,  and  truly  worthy  of  your  Excel- 
lency; I  do  not  believe  it  would  be  possible  to  put  together 
eighty  pearls  which  could  show  better  than  these  do  in  a 


372 


CELLINI 


necklace.  My  counsel  therefore  is,  that  you  should  buy 
them,  for  they  are  in  good  sooth  miraculous."  He  responded 
on  the  instant:  "  I  do  not  choose  to  buy  them;  they  are  not 
pearls  of  the  quality  and  goodness  you  affirm;  I  have  seen 
the  necklace,  and  they  do  not  please  me."  Then  I  added: 
"  Pardon  me,  prince!  These  pearls  exceed  in  rarity  and 
beauty  any  which  were  ever  brought  together  for  a  neck- 
lace." The  Duchess  had  risen,  and  was  standing  behind  a 
door  listening  to  all  I  said.  Well,  when  I  had  praised  the 
pearls  a  thousandfold  more  warmly  than  I  have  described 
above,  the  Duke  turned  toward  me  with  a  kindly  look,  and 
said:  "  O  my  dear  Benvenuto,  I  know  that  you  have  an  excel- 
lent judgment  in  these  matters.  If  the  pearls  are  as  rare  as 
you  certify,  I  should  not  hesitate  about  their  purchase,  partly 
to  gratify  the  Duchess,  and  partly  to  possess  them,  seeing 
I  have  always  need  of  such  things,  not  so  much  for  her  Grace, 
as  for  the  various  uses  of  my  sons  and  daughters."  When  I 
heard  him  speak  thus,  having  once  begun  to  tell  fibs,  I  stuck 
to  them  with  even  greater  boldness;  I  gave  all  the  colour  of 
truth  I  could  to  my  lies,  confiding  in  the  promise  of  the  Duch- 
ess to  help  me  at  the  time  of  need.  More  than  two  hundred 
crowns  were  to  be  my  commission  on  the  bargain,  and  the 
Duchess  had  intimated  that  I  should  receive  so  much;  but  I 
was  firmly  resolved  not  to  touch  a  farthing,  in  order  to  secure 
my  credit,  and  convince  the  Duke  I  was  not  prompted  by 
avarice.  Once  more  his  Excellency  began  to  address  me 
with  the  greatest  courtesy:  "  I  know  that  you  are  a  con- 
summate judge  of  these  things;  therefore,  if  you  are  the 
honest  man  I  always  thought  you,  tell  me  now  the  truth." 
Thereat  I  flushed  up  to  my  eyes,  which  at  the  same  time  filled 
with  tears,  and  said  to  him:  "My  lord,  if  I  tell  your  most 
illustrious  Excellency  the  truth,  I  shall  make  a  mortal  foe 
of  the  Duchess;  this  will  oblige  me  to  depart  from  Florence, 
and  my  enemies  will  begin  at  once  to  pour  contempt  upon  my 
Perseus,  which  I  have  announced  as  a  masterpiece  to  the 
most  noble  school  of  your  illustrious  Excellency.  Such  being 
the  case,  I  recommend  myself  to  your  most  illustrious  Ex- 
cellency." 


MEMOIRS  373 


LXXXIV 


The  Duke  was  now  aware  that  all  my  previous  speeches 
had  been,  as  it  were,  forced  out  of  me.  So  he  rejoined: 
"  If  you  have  confidence  in  me,  you  need  not  stand  in  fear 
of  anything  whatever."  I  recommenced:  "Alas!  my  lord, 
what  can  prevent  this  coming  to  the  ears  of  the  Duchess?" 
The  Duke  lifted  his  hand  in  sign  of  troth-pledge  and  ex- 
claimed: "  Be  assured  that  what  you  say  will  be  buried  in 
a  diamond  casket!"  To  this  engagement  upon  honour  I 
replied  by  telling  the  truth  according  to  my  judgment,  namely, 
that  the  pearls  were  not  worth  above  two  thousand  crowns. 
The  Duchess,  thinking  we  had  stopped  talking,  for  we  now 
were  speaking  in  as  low  a  voice  as  possible,  came  forward, 
and  began  as  follows:  "  My  lord,  do  me  the  favour  to  pur- 
chase this  necklace,  because  I  have  set  my  heart  on  them,  and 
your  Benvenuto  here  has  said  he  never  saw  a  finer  row  of 
pearls."  The  Duke  replied:  "  I  do  not  choose  to  buy  them." 
"  Why,  my  lord,  will  not  your  Excellency  gratify  me  by  buying 
them?"  "  Because  I  do  not  care  to  throw  my  money  out  of 
window."  The  Duchess  recommenced:  "  What  do  you  mean 
by  throwing  your  money  away,  when  Benvenuto,  in  whom 
you  place  such  well-merited  confidence,  has  told  me  that  they 
would  be  cheap  at  over  three  thousand  crowns?"  Then  the 
Duke  said:  "  My  lady!  my  Benvenuto  here  has  told  me  that, 
if  I  purchase  this  necklace,  I  shall  be  throwing  my  money 
away,  inasmuch  as  the  pearls  are  neither  round  nor  well- 
matched,  and  some  of  them  are  quite  faded.  To  prove  that 
this  is  so,  look  here!  look  there!  consider  this  one  and  then 
that.  The  necklace  is  not  the  sort  of  thing  for  me."  At  these 
words  the  Duchess  cast  a  glance  of  bitter  spite  at  me,  and 
retired  with  a  threatening  nod  of  her  head  in  my  direction. 
I  felt  tempted  to  pack  off  at  once  and  bid  farewell  to  Italy. 
Yet  my  Perseus  being  all  but  finished,  I  did  not  like  to  leave 
without  exposing  it  to  public  view.  But  I  ask  every  one  to 
consider  in  what  a  grievous  plight  I  found  myself! 

The  Duke  had  given  orders  to  his  porters  in  my  presence, 
that  if  I  appeared  at  the  palace,  they  should  always  admit  me 
through  his  apartments  to  the  place  where  he  might  happen 
to  be.  The  Duchess  commanded  the  same  men,  whenever  I 
showed  my  face  at  that  palace,  to  drive  me  from  its  gates. 


374  CELLINI 

Accordingly,  no  sooner  did  I  present  myself,  than  these  fel- 
lows left  their  doors  and  bade  me  begone;  at  the  same  time 
they  took  good  care  lest  the  Duke  should  perceive  what  they 
were  after;  for  if  he  caught  sight  of  me  before  those  wretches, 
he  either  called  me,  or  beckoned  to  me  to  advance. 

At  this  juncture  the  Duchess  sent  for  Bernardone,  the 
broker,  of  whom  she  had  so  often  complained  to  me,  abusing 
his  good-for-nothingness  and  utter  worthlessness.  She  now 
confided  in  him  as  she  had  previously  done  in  me.  He  re- 
plied: "  My  princess,  leave  the  matter  in  my  hands."  Then 
the  rascal  presented  himself  before  the  Duke  with  that  neck- 
lace in  his  hands.  No  sooner  did  the  Duke  set  eyes  on  him 
than  he  bade  him  begone.  But  the  rogue  lifted  his  big  ugly 
voice,  which  sounded  like  the  braying  of  an  ass  through  his 
huge  nose,  and  spoke  to  this  eflfect:  "Ah!  my  dear  lord,  for 
Heaven's  sake  buy  this  necklace  for  the  poor  Duchess,  who 
is  dying  to  have  it,  and  can  not  indeed  live  without  it."  The 
fellow  poured  forth  so  much  of  this  stupid  nonsensical  stuff 
that  the  Duke's  patience  was  exhausted,  and  he  cried:  "Oh, 
get  away  with  you,  or  blow  your  chaps  out  till  I  smack  them!  " 
The  knave  knew  very  well  what  he  was  after;  for  if  by  blow- 
ing out  his  cheeks  or  singing  "  La  Bella  Franceschina,"  he 
could  bring  the  Duke  to  make  that  purchase,  then  he  gained 
the  good  grace  of  the  Duchess,  and  to  boot  his  own  commis- 
sion, which  rose  to  some  hundreds  of  crowns.  Consequently 
he  did  blow  out  his  chaps.  The  Duke  smacked  them  with 
several  hearty  boxes,  and,  in  order  to  get  rid  of  him,  struck 
rather  harder  than  his  wont  was.  The  sound  blows  upon  his 
cheeks  not  only  reddened  them  above  their  natural  purple, 
but  also  brought  tears  into  his  eyes.  All  the  same,  while 
smarting,  he  began  to  cry:  "  Lo!  my  lord,  a  faithful  servant 
of  his  prince,  who  tries  to  act  rightly,  and  is  willing  to  put 
up  with  any  sort  of  bad  treatment,  provided  only  that  poor 
lady  have  her  heart's  desire!  "  The  Duke,  tired  of  the  ribald 
fellow,  either  to  recompense  the  cuflfs  which  he  had  dealt 
him,  or  for  the  Duchess's  sake,  whom  he  was  ever  most  in- 
clined to  gratify,  cried  out:  "  Get  away  with  you,  with  God's 
curse  on  you!  Go,  make  your  bargain;  I  am  willing  to  do 
what  my  lady  Duchess  wishes." 

From  this  incident  we  may  learn  to  know  how  evil  For- 
tune exerts  her  rage  aganist  a  poor  right-minded  man,  and 


MEMOIRS 


375 


how  the  strumpet  Luck  can  help  a  miserable  rascal.  I  lost 
the  good  graces  of  the  Duchess  once  and  for  ever,  and  thereby 
went  close  to  having  the  Duke's  protection  taken  from  me. 
He  acquired  that  thumping  fee  for  his  commission,  and  to 
boot  their  favour.  Thus  it  will  not  serve  us  in  this  world  to 
be  merely  men  of  honesty  and  talent. 

LXXXV 

About  this  time  the  war  of  Siena  broke  out,^  and  the  Duke, 
wishing  to  fortify  Florence,  distributed  the  gates  among  his 
architects  and  sculptors.  I  received  the  Prato  gate  and  the 
little  one  of  Arno,  which  is  on  the  way  to  the  mills.  The 
Cavaliere  Bandinello  got  the  gate  of  San  Friano;  Pasqualino 
d'Ancona,  the  gate  at  San  Pier  Gattolini;  Giulian  di  Baccio 
d'Agnolo,  the  wood-carver,  had  the  gate  of  San  Giorgio; 
Particino,  the  wood-carver,  had  the  gate  of  Santo  Niccolo; 
Francesco  da  San  Gallo,  the  sculptor,  called  II  MargoUa, 
got  the  gate  of  Santa  Croce;  and  Giovan  Battista,  surnamed 
II  Tasso,  the  gate  Pinti.  Other  bastions  and  gates  were 
assigned  to  divers  engineers,  whose  names  I  do  not  recollect, 
nor  indeed  am  I  concerned  with  them.  The  Duke,  who  cer- 
tainly was  at  all  times  a  man  of  great  ability,  went  round 
the  city  himself  upon  a  tour  of  inspection,  and  when  he  had 
made  his  mind  up,  he  sent  for  Lattanzio  Gorini,  one  of  his 
paymasters.  Now  this  man  was  to  some  extent  an  amateur 
of  military  architecture;  so  his  Excellency  commissioned  him 
to  make  designs  for  the  fortifications  of  the  gates,  and  sent 
each  of  us  his  own  gate  drawn  according  to  the  plan.  After 
examining  the  plan  for  mine,  and  perceiving  that  it  was  very 
incorrect  in  many  details,  I  took  it  and  went  immediately  to 
the  Duke.  When  I  tried  to  point  out  these  defects,  the  Duke 
interrupted  me  and  exclaimed  with  fury:  "  Benvenuto,  I  will 
give  way  to  you  upon  the  point  of  statuary,  but  in  this  art  of 
fortification  I  choose  that  you  should  cede  to  me.  So  carry 
out  the  design  which  I  have  given  you."  To  these  brave 
words  I  answered  as  gently  as  I  could,  and  said:  "  My  lord, 
your  most  illustrious  Excellency  has  taught  me  something 

'  In  the  year  1552,  when  Piero  Strozzi  acted  as  general  for  the  French 
King,  Henri  II,  against  the  Spaniards.  The  war  ended  in  the  capitula- 
tion of  Siena  in  1555.  In  1557  it  was  ceded  by  Philip  II  to  Cosimo  de' 
Medici. 


2^6  CELLINI 

even  in  my  own  fine  art  of  statuary,  inasmuch  as  we  have  al- 
ways exchanged  ideas  upon  that  subject;  I  beg  you  then  to 
deign  to  Hsten  to  me  upon  this  matter  of  your  fortifications, 
which  is  far  more  important  than  making  statues.  If  I  am 
permitted  to  discuss  it  also  with  your  Excellency,  you  will 
be  better  able  to  teach  me  how  I  have  to  serve  you."  This 
courteous  speech  of  mine  induced  him  to  discuss  the  plans 
with  me;  and  when  I  had  clearly  demonstrated  that  they  were 
not  conceived  on  a  right  method,  he  said:  "Go,  then,  and 
make  a  design  yourself,  and  I  will  see  if  it  satisfies  me."  Ac- 
cordingly, I  made  two  designs  according  to  the  right  princi- 
ples for  fortifying  those  two  gates,  and  took  them  to  him; 
and  when  he  distinguished  the  true  from  the  false  system,  he 
exclaimed  good-humouredly:  "  Go  and  do  it  in  your  own 
way,  for  I  am  content  to  have  it  so."    I  set  to  work  then  with 

the  greatest  diligence. 

LXXXVI 

There  was  on  guard  at  the  gate  of  Prato  a  certain  Lom- 
bard captain;  he  was  a  truculent  and  stalwart  fellow,  of  in- 
credibly coarse  speech,  whose  presumption  matched  his  utter 
ignorance.  This  man  began  at  once  to  ask  me  what  I  was 
about  there.  I  politely  exhibited  my  drawings,  and  took  in- 
finite pains  to  make  him  understand  my  purpose.  The  rude 
brute  kept  rolling  his  head,  and  turning  first  to  one  side  and 
then  to  the  other,  shifting  himself  upon  his  legs,  and  twirling 
his  enormous  mustachios;  then  he  drew  his  cap  down  over 
his  eyes  and  roared  out:  "  Zounds!  deuce  take  it!  I  can 
make  nothing  of  this  rigmarole."  At  last  the  animal  became 
so  tiresome  that  I  said:  "  Leave  it  then  to  me,  who  do  under- 
stand it,"  and  turned  my  shoulders  to  go  about  my  business. 
At  this  he  began  to  threaten  me  with  his  head,  and,  setting 
his  left  hand  on  the  pommel  of  his  sword,  tilted  the  point  up, 
and  exclaimed:  "Hullo,  my  master!  you  want  perhaps  to 
make  me  cross  blades  with  you?"  I  faced  round  in  a  great 
fury,  for  the  man  had  stirred  my  blood,  and  cried  out:  "It 
would  be  less  trouble  to  run  you  through  the  body  than  to 
build  the  bastion  of  this  gate."  In  an  instant  we  both  set 
hands  to  our  swords,  without  quite  drawing;  for  a  number  of 
honest  folk,  citizens  of  Florence,  and  others  of  them  courtiers, 
came  running  up.  The  greater  part  of  them  rated  the  captain, 
telling  him  that  he  was  in  the  wrong,  that  I  was  a  man  to  give 


MEMOIRS 


377 


him  back  as  good  as  I  got,  and  that  if  this  came  to  the  Duke's 
ears  it  would  be  the  worse  for  him.  Accordingly  he  went  off 
on  his  own  business,  and  I  began  with  my  bastion. 

After  setting  things  in  order  there,  I  proceeded  to  the 
other  little  gate  of  Arno,  where  I  found  a  captain  from  Cesena, 
the  most  polite,  well-mannered  man  I  ever  knew  in  that  pro- 
fession. He  had  the  air  of  a  gentle  young  lady,  but  at  need 
he  could  prove  himself  one  of  the  boldest  and  bloodiest  fight- 
ers in  the  world.  This  agreeable  gentleman  observed  me  so 
attentively  that  he  made  me  bashful  and  self-conscious;  and 
seeing  that  he  wanted  to  understand  what  I  was  doing,  I 
courteously  explained  my  plans.  Suffice  it  to  say,  that  we 
vied  with  each  other  in  civilities,  which  made  me  do  far  better 
with  this  bastion  than  with  the  other. 

I  had  nearly  finished  the  two  bastions  when  an  inroad  of 
Piero  Strozzi's  people  struck  such  terror  into  the  country-folk 
of  Prato  that  they  began  to  leave  it  in  a  body,  and  all  their 
carts,  laden  with  the  household  goods  of  each  family,  came 
crowding  into  the  city.  The  number  of  them  w'as  so  enor- 
mous, cart  jostling  with  cart,  and  the  confusion  was  so  great, 
that  I  told  the  guards  to  look  out  lest  the  same  misadventure 
should  happen  at  this  gate  as  had  occurred  at  the  gates  of 
Turin;  for  if  we  had  once  cause  to  lower  the  portcullis,  it 
would  not  be  able  to  perform  its  functious,  but  must  inevitably 
stick  suspended  upon  one  of  the  wagons.  When  that  big 
brute  of  a  captain  heard  these  words,  he  replied  with  insults, 
and  I  retorted  in  the  same  tone.  We  were  on  the  point  of 
coming  to  a  far  worse  quarrel  than  before.  However,  the  folk 
kept  us  asunder;  and  when  I  had  finished  my  bastions,  I 
touched  some  score  of  crowns,  which  I  had  not  expected,  and 
which  were  vmcommonly  welcome.  So  I  returned  with  a 
blithe  heart  to  finish  my  Perseus. 

LXXXVII 

During  those  days  some  antiquities  had  been  discovered  in 
the  country  round  Arezzo.  Among  them  was  the  Chimgera, 
that  bronze  lion  which  is  to  be  seen  in  the  rooms  adjacent 
to  the  great  hall  of  the  palace.^  Together  wath  the  Chimsera 
a  number  of  little  statuettes,  likewise  in  bronze,  had  been 
brought  to  light;  they  were  covered  with  earth  and  rust,  and 

'  Now  in  the  UfBzzi. 


378 


CELLINI 


each  of  them  lacked  either  head  or  hands  or  feet.  The  Duke 
amused  his  leisure  hours  by  cleaning  up  these  statuettes  him- 
self with  certain  little  chisels  used  by  goldsmiths.  It  happened 
on  one  occasion  that  I  had  to  speak  on  business  to  his  Excel- 
lency; and  while  we  were  talking,  he  reached  me  a  little 
hammer,  with  which  I  struck  the  chisels  the  Duke  held,  and 
so  the  figures  were  disengaged  from  their  earth  and  rust.  In 
this  way  we  passed  several  evenings,  and  then  the  Duke  com- 
missioned me  to  restore  the  statuettes.  He  took  so  much 
pleasure  in  these  trifles  that  he  made  me  work  by  day  also, 
and  if  I  delayed  coming,  he  used  to  send  for  me.  I  very  often 
submitted  to  his  Excellency  that  if  I  left  my  Perseus  in  the 
daytime,  several  bad  consequences  w'ould  ensue.  The  first  of 
these,  which  caused  me  the  greatest  anxiety,  was  that,  seeing 
me  spend  so  long  a  time  upon  my  statue,  the  Duke  himself 
might  get  disgusted;  which  indeed  did  afterward  happen.  The 
other  was  that  I  had  several  journeymen  who  in  my  absence 
were  up  to  two  kinds  of  mischief;  first,  they  spoilt  my  piece, 
and  then  they  did  as  little  work  as  possible.  These  arguments 
made  his  Excellency  consent  that  I  should  only  go  to  the 
palace  after  twenty-four  o'clock. 

I  had  now  conciliated  the  affection  of  his  Excellency  to 
such  an  extent,  that  every  evening  when  I  came  to  him  he 
treated  me  with  greater  kindness.  About  this  time  the  new 
apartments  were  built  toward  the  lions;  ^  the  Duke  then  wish- 
ing to  be  able  to  retire  into  a  less  public  part  of  the  palace, 
fitted  up  for  himself  a  little  chamber  in  these  new  lodgings, 
and  ordered  me  approach  to  it  by  a  private  passage.  I  had 
to  pass  through  his  wardrobe,  then  across  the  stage  of  the 
great  hall,  and  afterward  through  certain  little  dark  galleries 
and  cabinets.  The  Duchess,  however,  after  a  few  days,  de- 
prived me  of  this  means  of  access  by  having  all  the  doors 
upon  the  path  I  had  to  traverse  locked  up.  The  consequence 
was  that  every  evening  when  I  arrived  at  the  palace,  I  had  to 
wait  a  long  while,  because  the  Duchess  occupied  the  cabinets, 
and  so  I  never  came  without  incommoding  her.  This  and 
other  causes  made  her  hate  the  very  sight  of  me.  However, 
notwithstanding  great  discomforts  and  daily  annoyances,  I 
persevered  in  going.     The  Duke's  orders,  meanwhile,  were 

'  Lions  from  a  very  early  period  had  always  been  kept  in  part  of  the 
Palazzo  Vecchio, 


MEMOIRS  379 

SO  precise,  that  no  sooner  did  I  knock  at  those  doors,  than 
they  were  immediately  opened,  and  I  was  allowed  to  pass 
freely  where  1  chose.  The  consequence  was  that  occasion- 
ally, while  walking  noiselessly  and  unexpectedly  through  the 
private  rooms,  I  came  upon  the  Duchess  at  a  highly  incon- 
venient moment.  Bursting  then  into  such  a  furious  storm 
of  rage  that  I  was  frightened,  she  cried  out:  "  When  will  you 
ever  finish  mending  up  those  statuettes?  Upon  my  word,  this 
perpetual  going  and  coming  of  yours  has  grown  to  be  too 
great  a  nuisance."  I  replied  as  gently  as  I  could:  "  My  lady 
and  sole  mistress,  I  have  no  other  desire  than  to  serve  you 
loyally  and  with  the  strictest  obedience.  This  work  to  which 
the  Duke  has  put  me  wull  last  several  months;  so  tell  me, 
most  illustrious  Excellency,  whether  you  wish  me  not  to  come 
here  any  more.  In  that  case  I  will  not  come,  whoever  calls 
me;  nay,  should  the  Duke  himself  send  for  me,  I  shall  reply 
that  I  am  ill,  and  by  no  means  will  I  intrude  again."  To  this 
speech  she  made  answer:  "  I  do  not  bid  you  not  to  come, 
nor  do  I  bid  you  to  disobey  the  Duke;  but  I  repeat  that  your 
w'ork  seems  to  me  as  though  it  would  never  be  finished." 

Whether  the  Duke  heard  something  of  this  encounter,  or 
whatever  the  cause  was,  he  began  again  as  usual.  Toward 
twenty-four  o'clock  he  sent  for  me;  and  his  messenger  always 
spoke  to  this  effect:  "  Take  good  care,  and  do  not  fail  to  come, 
for  the  Duke  is  waiting  for  you."  In  this  way  I  continued, 
always  with  the  same  inconveniences,  to  put  in  an  appearance 
on  several  successive  evenings.  Upon  one  occasion  among 
others,  as  I  arrived  in  my  customary  way,  the  Duke,  who  had 
probably  been  talking  with  the  Duchess  about  private  mat- 
ters, turned  upon  me  in  a  furious  anger.  I  was  terrified,  and 
wanted  to  retire.  But  he  called  out:  "  Come  in,  friend  Ben- 
venuto;  go  to  your  affairs;  I  will  rejoin  you  in  a  few  mo- 
ments." W^hile  I  was  passing  onward.  Don  Garzia,  then 
quite  a  little  fellow,  plucked  me  by  the  cape,  and  played  with 
me  as  prettily  as  such  a  child  could  do.  The  Duke  looked 
up  delighted,  and  exclaimed:  "What  pleasant  and  friendly 
terms  my  boys  are  on  with  you !  " 

LXXXVIII 

While  I  was  working  at  these  bagatelles,  the  Prince,  and 
Don  Giovanni,  and  Don  Arnando,  and  Don  Garzia  kept  al- 


38o  CELLINI 

ways  hovering  around  me,  teasing  me  whenever  the  Duke's 
eyes  were  turned/  I  begged  them  for  mercy's  sake  to  hold 
their  peace.  They  answered:  "That  we  can  not  do."  I 
told  them:  "What  one  can  not  is  required  of  no  one!  So 
have  your  will !  Along  with  you !  "  At  this  both  Duke  and 
Duchess  burst  out  laughing. 

Another  evening,  after  I  had  finished  the  small  bronze 
figures  which  are  wrought  into  the  pedestal  of  Perseus,  that 
is  to  say,  the  Jupiter,  Mercury,  Minerva,  and  Danae,  with  the 
little  Perseus  seated  at  his  mother's  feet,  I  had  them  carried 
into  the  room  where  I  was  wont  to  work,  and  arranged  them 
in  a  row,  raised  somewhat  above  the  line  of  vision,  so  that 
they  produced  a  magnificent  effect.  The  Duke  heard  of  this, 
and  made  his  entrance  sooner  than  usual.  It  seems  that  the 
person  who  informed  his  Excellency  praised  them  above  their 
merit,  using  terms  like  "  far  superior  to  the  ancients,"  and 
so  forth;  wherefore  the  Duke  came  talking  pleasantly  with 
the  Duchess  about  my  doings.  I  rose  at  once  and  went  to 
meet  them.  With  his  fine  and  truly  princely  manner  he  re- 
ceived me,  lifting  his  right  hand,  in  which  he  held  as  superb 
a  pear-graft  as  could  possibly  be  seen.  "  Take  it,  my  Ben- 
venuto!"  he  exclaimed;  "plant  this  pear  in  your  garden." 
To  these  words  I  replied  with  a  delighted  gesture:  "  O  my 
lord,  does  your  most  illustrious  Excellency  really  mean  that 
I  should  plant  it  in  the  garden  of  my  house?"  "Yes,"  he 
said,  "  in  the  garden  of  the  house  which  belongs  to  you.  Have 
you  understood  me?"  I  thanked  his  Excellency,  and  the 
Duchess  in  like  manner,  with  the  best  politeness  I  could  use. 

After  this  they  both  took  seats  in  front  of  the  statues,  and 
for  more  than  two  hours  went  on  talking  about  nothing  but 
the  beauties  of  the  work.  The  Duchess  was  wrought  up  to 
such  an  enthusiasm  that  she  cried  out:  "  I  do  not  like  to  let 
those  exquisite  figures  be  w^asted  on  the  pedestal  down  there 
in  the  piazza,  where  they  will  run  the  risk  of  being  injured. 
I  would  much  rather  have  you  fix  them  in  one  of  my  apart- 
ments, where  they  will  be  preserved  with  the  respect  due  to 
their  singular  artistic  qualities."  I  opposed  this  plan  with 
many  forcible  arguments ;  but  when  I  saw  that  she  was  deter- 
mined I  should  not  place  them  on  the  pedestal  where  they 

'The   Prince  was   Don  Francesco,  then  aged   twelve;  Don   Giovanni 
was  ten,  Don  Garzia  was  six,  and  Don  Ferdinando  four. 


MEMOIRS  381 

now  stand,  I  waited  till  next  day,  and  went  to  the  palace  about 
twenty-two  o'clock.  Ascertaining  that  the  Duke  and  Duch- 
ess were  out  riding,  and  having  already  prepared  the  pedestal, 
I  had  the  statues  carried  down,  and  soldered  them  with  lead 
into  their  proper  niches.  Oh,  when  the  Duchess  knew  of 
this,  how  angry  she  was!  Had  it  not  been  for  the  Duke,  who 
manfully  defended  me,  I  should  have  paid  dearly  for  my 
daring.  Her  indignation  about  the  pearls,  and  now  again 
about  this  matter  of  the  statues,  made  her  so  contrive  that 
the  Duke  abandoned  his  amusements  in  our  workshop.  Con- 
sequently I  went  there  no  more,  and  was  met  again  with  the 
same  obstructions  as  formerly  whenever  I   wanted  to  gain 

access  to  the  palace. 

LXXXIX 

I  returned  to  the  Loggia,^  whither  my  Perseus  had  already 
been  brought,  and  went  on  putting  the  last  touches  to  my 
work,  under  the  old  difficulties  always;  that  is  to  say,  lack 
of  money,  and  a  hundred  untoward  accidents,  the  half  of  which 
would  have  cowed  a  man  armed  with  adamant. 

However,  I  pursued  my  course  as  usual;  and  one  morn- 
ing, after  I  had  heard  mass  at  San  Piero  Scheraggio,  that 
brute  Bernardone,  broker,  worthless  goldsmith,  and  by  the 
Duke's  grace  purveyor  to  the  mint,  passed  by  me.  No  sooner 
had  he  got  outside  the  church  than  I  ran  ofif  for  a  cudgel. 
He  took  refuge  on  the  instant  in  the  mint;  while  I  stationed 
myself  inside  my  house-door,  which  I  left  ajar,  setting  a  boy 
at  watch  upon  the  street  to  warn  me  when  the  pig  should 
leave  the  mint.  After  waiting  some  time,  I  grew  tired,  and 
my  heat  cooled.  Reflecting,  then,  that  blows  are  not  dealt 
by  contract,  and  that  some  disaster  might  ensue,  I  resolved 
to  wreak  my  vengeance  by  another  method.  The  incident 
took  place  about  the  feast  of  our  San  Giovanni,  one  or  two 
days  before;  so  I  composed  four  verses,  and  stuck  them  up 
in  an  angle  of  the  church  where  people  go.  The  verses  ran 
as  follows: 

"Here  lieth  Bernardone,  ass  and  pig:, 

Spy,  broker,  thief,  in  whom  Pandora  planted 
All  her  worst  evils,  and  from  thence  transplanted 
Into  that  brute  Buaccio's  carcass  big.  ' 

'  That  is,  the  Loggia  de'  Lanzi,  on  the  great  piazza  of  Florence,  where 
Cellini's  statue  still  stands. 


382 


CELLINI 


Both  the  incident  and  the  verses  went  the  round  of  the  palace, 

giving  the  Duke  and  Duchess  much  amusement.    But,  before 

the  man  himself  knew  what  I  had  been  up  to,  crowds  of  people 

stopped  to  read  the  lines  and  laughed  immoderately  at  them. 

Since  they  were  looking  toward  the  mint  and  fixing  their  eyes 

on  Bernardone,  his  son,  Maestro  Baccio,  taking  notice  of  their 

gestures,  tore  the  paper  down  with  fury.     The  elder  bit  his 

thumb,  shrieking  threats  out  with  that  hideous  voice  of  his, 

which  comes  forth  through  his  nose;  indeed  he  made  a  brave 

defiance.^ 

XC 

When  the  Duke  was  informed  that  the  whole  of  my  work 
for  the  Perseus  could  be  exhibited  as  finished,  he  came  one 
day  to  look  at  it.  His  manner  showed  clearly  that  it  gave 
him  great  satisfaction;  but  afterward  he  turned  to  some  gen- 
tlemen attending  him  and  said:  "Although  this  statue  seems 
in  our  eyes  a  very  fine  piece,  still  it  has  yet  to  win  the  favour 
of  the  people.  Therefore,  my  Benvenuto,  before  you  put  the 
very  last  touches  on,  I  should  like  you,  for  my  sake,  to  remove 
a  part  of  the  scaffolding  on  the  side  of  the  piazza,  some  day 
toward  noon,  in  order  that  we  may  learn  what  folk  think  of 
it.  There  is  no  doubt  that  when  it  is  thrown  open  to  space 
and  light,  it  will  look  very  differently  from  what  it  does  in  this 
enclosure."  I  replied  with  all  humility  to  his  Excellency: 
"  You  must  know,  my  lord,  that  it  will  make  more  than  twice 
as  good  a  show.  Oh,  how  is  it  that  your  most  illustrious 
Excellency  has  forgotten  seeing  it  in  the  garden  of  my  house? 
There,  in  that  large  extent  of  space,  it  showed  so  bravely 
that  Bandinello,  coming  through  the  garden  of  the  Innocents 
to  look  at  it,  was  compelled,  in  spite  of  his  evil  and  malignant 
nature,  to  praise  it,  he  who  never  praised  aught  or  any  one 
in  all  his  life!  I  perceive  that  your  Excellency  lends  too 
ready  an  ear  to  that  fellow."  When  I  had  done  speaking,  he 
smiled  ironically  and  a  little  angrily;  yet  he  replied  with  great 
kindness:  "  Do  what  I  ask,  my  Benvenuto,  just  to  please  me." 

When  the  Duke  had  left,  I  gave  orders  to  have  the  screen 
removed.  Yet  some  trifles  of  gold,  varnish,  and  various  other 
little  finishings  were  still  wanting;  wherefore  I  began  to  mur- 
mur and  complain  indignantly,  cursing  the  unhappy  day 
which  brought  me  to  Florence.    Too  well  I  knew  already  the 

'  To  bite  the  thumb  at  any  one  was  a  sign  of  challenge  or  provocation. 


MEMOIRS 


383 


great  and  irreparable  sacrifice  I  made  when  I  left  France; 
nor  could  I  discover  any  reasonable  ground  for  hope  that  I 
might  prosper  in  the  future  with  my  prince  and  patron.  From 
the  commencement  to  the  middle  and  the  ending,  everything 
that  I  had  done  had  been  performed  to  my  great  disadvan- 
tage. Therefore,  it  was  with  deep  ill-humour  that  I  disclosed 
my  statue  on  the  following  day. 

Now  it  pleased  God  that,  on  the  instant  of  its  exposure 
to  view,  a  shout  of  boundless  enthusiasm  went  up  in  com- 
mendation of  my  work,  which  consoled  me  not  a  little.  The 
folk  kept  on  attaching  sonnets  to  the  posts  of  the  door,  which 
was  protected  with  a  curtain  while  I  gave  the  last  touches  to 
the  statue.  I  believe  that  on  the  same  day  when  I  opened  it 
a  few  hours  to  the  public,  more  than  twenty  were  nailed  up, 
all  of  them  overflowing  with  the  highest  panegyrics.  After- 
ward, when  I  once  more  shut  it  off  from  view,  every  day 
brought  sonnets,  with  Latin  and  Greek  verses;  for  the  Uni- 
versity of  Pisa  was  then  in  vacation,  and  all  the  doctors  and 
scholars  kept  vying  with  each  other  who  could  praise  it  best. 
But  what  gratified  me  most,  and  inspired  me  with  most  hope 
of  the  Duke's  support,  was  that  the  artists,  sculptors  and 
painters  alike,  entered  into  the  same  generous  competition. 
I  set  the  highest  value  on  the  eulogies  of  that  excellent  painter 
Jacopo  Pontormo,  and  still  more  on  those  of  his  able  pupil 
Bronzino,  who  was  not  satisfied  with  merely  publishing  his 
verses,  but  sent  them  by  his  lad  Sandrino's  hand  to  my  own 
house.^  They  spoke  so  generously  of  my  performance,  in 
that  fine  style  of  his  which  is  most  exquisite,  that  this  alone 
repaid  me  somewhat  for  the  pain  of  my  long  troubles.  So 
then  I  closed  the  screen,  and  once  more  set  myself  to  finishing 
mv  statue. 

XCI 

The  great  compliments  which  this  short  inspection  of  my 
Perseus  had  elicited  from  the  noble  school  of  Florence,  though 
they  were  well  known  to  the  Duke,  did  not  prevent  him  from 
saying:  "  I  am  delighted  that  Benvenuto  has  had  this  trifling 
satisfaction,  which  will  spur  him  on  to  the  desired  conclusion 

'  Jacopo  Carrucci  da  Pontormo  was  then  an  old  man.  He  died  in 
1558,  aged  sixty-five  years.  Angelo  Allori,  called  II  Bronzino,  one  of  the 
last  fairly  good  Florentine  painters,  won  considerable  distinction  as  a 
writer  of  burlesque  poems.     He  died  in  1571,  aged  sixty-nine  years. 


5^4 


CELLINI 


\^■ith  more  speed  and  diligence.  Do  not,  however,  let  him 
imagine  that,  when  his  Perseus  shall  be  hnally  exposed  to  \-iew 
irom  all  sides,  folk  in  general  will  be  so  lavish  of  their  praises. 
On  the  contrar}-,  I  am  afraid  that  all  its  defects  will  then  be 
brought  home  to  him,  and  more  will  be  detected  than  the 
statue  really  has.  So  let  him  arm  himself  with  patience." 
These  were  precisely  the  words  which  Bandinello  had  whis- 
pered in  the  Duke's  ears,  citing  the  works  of  Andrea  del  \'er- 
rocchio,  who  made  that  fine  bronze  of  Christ  and  S.  Thomas 
on  the  front  of  Orsammichele ;  at  the  same  time  he  referred 
to  many  other  statues,  and  dared  even  to  attack  the  mcirvel- 
lous  DaNnd  of  di\'ine  Michel  Agnolo  Buonarroti,  accusing  it 
of  only  looking  well  if  seen  in  front;  finally,  he  touched  upon 
the  multitude  of  sarcastic  sonnets  which  were  called  forth  by 
his  own  Hercules  and  Cacus,  and  wound  up  with  abusing  the 
people  of  Florence.  Now  the  Duke,  who  was  too  much  in- 
chned  to  credit  his  assertions,  encouraged  the  fellow  to  speak 
thus,  and  thought  in  his  own  heart  that  things  would  go  as 
he  had  prophesied,  because  that  envious  creature  Bandinello 
never  ceased  insinuating  malice.  On  one  occasion  it  hap- 
pened that  the  gallows  bird  Bemardone,  the  broker,  was  pres- 
ent at  these  conversations,  and  in  support  of  Bandinello's 
calumnies,  he  said  to  the  Duke :  "  You  must  remember, 
prince,  that  statues  on  a  large  scale  are  quite  a  different  dish 
of  soup  from  little  figures.  I  do  not  refuse  him  the  credit  of 
being  excellent  at  statuettes  in  miniature.  But  you  \%-ill  soon 
see  that  he  can  not  succeed  in  that  other  sphere  of  art."  To 
these  vile  suggestions  he  added  many  others  of  all  sorts,  plying 
his  spy's  office,  and  piling  up  a  mountain  of  lies  to  boot 

XCII 

Now  it  pleased  my  glorious  Lord  and  immortal  God  that 
at  last  I  brought  the  whole  work  to  completion :  and  on  a  cer- 
tain Thursday  morning  I  exposed  it  to  the  public  gaze.^  Im- 
mediately, before  the  sun  was  fully  in  the  heavens,  there 
assembled  such  a  multitude  of  people  that  no  words  could 
describe  them.  All  with  one  voice  contended  which  should 
praise  it  most.  The  Duke  was  stationed  at  a  window  low 
upon  the  first  floor  of  the  palace,  just  above  the  entrance; 
there,  half  hidden,  he  heard  ever\-thing  the  folk  were  saying 

>  April  27,  1554- 


j 


MEMOIRS  385 

of  my  statue.  After  listening  through  several  hours,  he  rose 
so  proud  and  happy  in  his  heart  that  he  turned  to  his  attend- 
ant, Messer  Sforza,  and  exclaimed:  "  Sforza,  go  and  seek 
out  Benvenuto;  tell  him  from  me  that  he  has  delighted  me 
far  more  than  I  expected:  say  too  that  I  shall  reward  him  in 
a  way  which  will  astonish  him;  so  bid  him  be  of  good 
courage." 

In  due  course,  Messer  Sforza  discharged  this  glorious  em- 
bassy, which  consoled  me  greatly.  I  passed  a  happy  day, 
partly  because  of  the  Duke's  message,  and  also  because  the 
folk  kept  pointing  me  out  as  something  mar\-ellous  and 
strange.  Among  the  many  who  did  so,  were  two  gentlemen, 
deputed  by  the  \'iceroy  of  Sicily  ^  to  our  Duke  on  public 
business.  Now  these  two  agreeable  persons  met  me  upon 
the  piazza:  I  had  been  sho\\-n  them  in  passing,  and  now  they 
made  monstrous  haste  to  catch  me  up:  then,  with  caps  in 
hand,  they  uttered  an  oration  so  ceremonious,  that  it  would 
have  been  excessive  for  a  Pope.  I  bowed,  with  ever}"  pro- 
testation of  humility.  They  meanwhile  continued  loading  me 
with  compliments,  until  at  last  I  prayed  them,  for  kindness' 
sake,  to  leave  the  piazza  in  my  company,  because  the  folk 
were  stopping  and  staring  at  me  more  than  at  my  Perseus. 
In  the  midst  of  all  these  ceremonies,  they  went  so  far  as  to 
propose  that  I  should  come  to  Sicily,  and  offered  to  make 
terms  which  should  content  me.  They  told  me  how  Fra 
Gio\'an  Agnolo  de'  Serv-i  -  had  constructed  a  fountain  for 
them,  complete  in  all  its  parts,  and  decorated  with  a  multi- 
tude of  figures;  but  it  was  not  in  the  same  good  st}le  they 
recognised  in  Perseus,  and  yet  they  had  heaped  riches  on  the 
man.  I  would  not  suffer  them  to  finish  all  their  speeches, 
but  answered:  "You  give  me  much  cause  for  wonder,  seek- 
ing as  you  do  to  make  me  quit  the  service  of  a  prince  who 
is  the  greatest  patron  of  the  arts  that  ever  lived;  and  I  too 
here  in  my  own  birthplace,  famous  as  the  school  of  every 
art  and  science!  Oh.  if  my  soul's  desire  had  been  set  on 
lucre.  I  could  have  stayed  in  France,  with  that  great  monarch 
Francis,  who  gave  me  a  thousand  golden  crowns  a  year  for 

'  Don  Juan  de  Vega. 

*  Giovanni  Angelo  Montorsoli  entered  the  Order  of  the  Servite?  in 
1530.  This  did  not  prevent  him  from  plying  his  profession  of  sculptor. 
The  work  above  alluded  to  is  the  fountain  at  Messina. 

25 


386 


CELLINI 


board,  and  paid  me  in  addition  the  price  of  all  my  labour. 
In  his  service  I  gained  more  than  four  thousand  golden 
crowns  the  year." 

With  these  and  such-like  words  I  cut  their  ceremonies 
short,  thanking  them  for  the  high  praises  they  had  bestowed 
upon  me,  which  were  indeed  the  best  reward  that  artists  could 
receive  for  their  labours.  I  told  them  they  had  greatly  stimu- 
lated my  zeal,  so  that  I  hoped,  after  a  few  years  were  passed, 
to  exhibit  another  masterpiece,  which  I  dared  believe  would 
yield  far  truer  satisfaction  to  our  noble  school  of  Florence. 
The  two  gentlemen  were  eager  to  resume  the  thread  of  their 
complimentary  proposals,  whereupon  I,  lifting  my  cap  and 
making  a  profound  bow,  bade  them  a  polite  farewell. 

XCIII 

When  two  more  days  had  passed,  and  the  chorus  of  praise 
was  ever  on  the  increase,  I  resolved  to  go  and  present  myself 
to  the  Duke,  who  said  with  great  good-humour:  "  My  Ben- 
venuto,  you  have  satisfied  and  delighted  me;  but  I  promise 
that  I  will  reward  you  in  such  wise  as  will  make  you  wonder; 
and  I  tell  you  that  I  do  not  mean  to  delay  beyond  to-morrow." 
On  hearing  this  most  welcome  assurance,  I  turned  all  the 
forces  of  my  soul  and  body  to  God,  fervently  offering  up 
thanks  to  Him.  At  the  same  moment  I  approached  the  Duke, 
and  almost  weeping  for  gladness,  kissed  his  robe.  Then  I 
added:  "  O  my  glorious  prince,  true  and  most  generous  lover 
of  the  arts,  and  of  those  who  exercise  them!  I  entreat  your 
most  illustrious  Excellency  to  allow  me  eight  days  first  to 
go  and  return  thanks  to  God;  for  I  alone  know  what  travail 
I  have  endured,  and  that  my  earnest  faith  has  moved  Him 
to  assist  me.  In  gratitude  for  this  and  all  other  marvellous 
mercies,  I  should  like  to  travel  eight  days  on  pilgrimage,  con- 
tinually thanking  my  immortal  God,  who  never  fails  to  help 
those  who  call  upon  Him  with  sincerity."  The  Duke  then 
asked  me  where  I  wished  to  go.  I  answered:  "To-morrow 
I  shall  set  out  for  Vallombrosa,  thence  to  Camaldoli  and  the 
Ermo,  afterward  I  shall  proceed  to  the  Bagni  di  Santa  Maria, 
and  perhaps  so  far  as  Sestile,  because  I  hear  of  fine  antiquities 
to  be  seen  there.  Then  I  shall  retrace  my  steps  by  San  Fran- 
cesco della  Vernia.  and,  still  with  thanks  to  God,  return 
light-hearted  to  your  service."     The  Duke  replied  at  once 


MEMOIRS  387 

with  cheerful  kindness:  "Go  and  come  back  again,  for  of  a 
truth  you  please  me;  but  do  not  forget  to  send  a  couple  of 
lines  by  way  of  memorandum,  and  leave  the  rest  to  me." 

I  wrote  four  lines  that  very  day,  in  which  I  thanked  his 
Excellency  for  expected  favours,  and  gave  these  to  Messer 
Sforza,  who  placed  them  in  the  Duke's  hands.  The  latter 
took  them,  and  then  handed  them  to  Messer  Sforza,  remark- 
ing: "  See  that  you  put  these  lines  each  day  where  I  can 
see  them;  for  if  Benvenuto  comes  back  and  finds  I  have  not 
despatched  his  business,  I  think  that  he  will  murder  me." 
Thus  laughing,  his  Excellency  asked  to  be  reminded.  Messer 
Sforza  reported  these  precise  words  to  me  on  the  same  even- 
ing, laughing  too  and  expressing  wonder  at  the  great  favour 
shown  me  by  the  Duke.  He  pleasantly  added:  *' Go,  Ben- 
venuto, and  come  again   quickly,   for  indeed   I   am  jealous 

of  you." 

XCIV 

In  God's  name  then  I  left  Florence,  continually  singing 
psalms  and  prayers  in  His  honour  upon  all  that  journey.  I 
enjoyed  it  extremely;  for  the  season  was  fine,  in  early  sum- 
mer, and  the  country  through  which  I  travelled,  and  which 
I  had  never  seen  before,  struck  me  as  marvellously  beautiful. 
Now  I  had  taken  with  me  to  serve  as  guide  a  young  workman 
in  my  employ,  who  came  from  Bagno,  and  was  called  Cesare. 
Thanks  to  him,  then,  I  received  the  kindest  hospitality  from 
his  father  and  all  his  family,  among  whom  was  an  old  man 
of  more  than  seventy,  extremely  pleasant  in  his  conversation. 
He  was  Cesare's  uncle,  a  surgeon  by  profession,  and  a  dabbler 
in  alchemy.  This  excellent  person  made  me  observe  that  the 
Bagni  contained  mines  of  gold  and  silver,  and  showed  me 
many  interesting  objects  in  the  neighbourhood;  so  that  I 
enjoyed  myself  as  much  as  I  have  ever  done. 

One  day,  when  we  had  become  intimate  and  he  could  trust 
me,  he  spoke  as  follows:  "I  must  not  omit  to  tell  you  a 
thought  of  mine,  to  which  his  Excellency  might  with  advan- 
tage pay  attention.  It  is.  that  not  far  from  Camaldoli  there  lies 
a  mountain  pass  so  ill  defended,  that  Piero  Strozzi  could  not 
onlv  cross  it  without  risk,  but  might  also  seize  on  Poppi  ^ 
unmolested."    Not  satisfied  with  this  description,  he  also  took 

'  A  village  in  the  Castenino.     Piero  Strozzi  was  at  this  time  in  Valdi- 
chiana. 


388 


CELLINI 


a  sheet  of  paper  from  his  pouch,  upon  which  the  good  old 
man  had  drawn  the  whole  country,  so  that  the  seriousness 
of  the  danger  could  be  manifest  upon  inspection  of  the  map. 
I  took  the  design  and  left  Bagno  at  once,  travelling  home- 
ward as  fast  as  I  could  by  Prato  Magno  and  San  Francesco 
della  Vernia.  On  reaching  Florence,  I  only  stopped  to  draw 
oflf  my  riding-boots,  and  hurried  to  the  palace.  Just  opposite 
the  Badia  I  met  the  Duke,  who  was  coming  by  the  palace  of 
the  Podesta.  When  he  saw  me  he  gave  me  a  very  gracious 
reception,  and  showing  some  surprise,  exclaimed:  "  Why 
have  you  come  back  so  quickly?  I  did  not  expect  you  for 
eight  days  at  least."  I  answered:  "  The  service  of  your  most 
illustrious  Excellency  brings  me  back,  else  I  should  very  will- 
ingly have  stayed  some  few  days  longer  on  my  journey 
through  that  lovely  country."  "  Well,  and  what  good  news 
have  you?  "  said  he.  I  answered:  "  Prince,  I  must  talk  to  you 
about  things  of  the  greatest  importance  which  I  have  to  dis- 
close." So  I  followed  him  to  the  palace,  and  when  we  were 
there,  he  took  me  privately  into  a  chamber  where  we  stayed 
a  while  alone  together.  I  then  unfolded  the  whole  matter 
and  showed  him  the  little  map,  with  which  he  seemed  to  be 
much  gratified.  When  I  told  his  Excellency  that  one  ought 
to  take  measures  at  once,  he  reflected  for  a  little  while  and 
then  said:  "  I  may  inform  you  that  we  have  agreed  with  the 
Duke  of  Urbino  that  he  should  guard  the  pass;  but  do  not 
speak  about  it."  Then  he  dismissed  me  with  great  demon- 
trations  of  good-will,  and  I  went  home. 

XCV 

Next  day  I  presented  myself,  and,  after  a  few  words  of  con- 
versation, the  Duke  addressed  me  cheerfully:  "To-morrow, 
without  fail,  I  mean  to  despatch  your  business;  set  your  mind 
at  rest,  then."  I,  who  felt  sure  that  he  meant  what  he  said, 
waited  with  great  impatience  for  the  morrow.  When  the 
longed-for  day  arrived,  I  betook  me  to  the  palace;  and  as  it 
always  happens  that  evil  tidings  travel  faster  than  good  news, 
Messer  Giacopo  Guidi,  secretary  to  his  Excellency,  called  me 
with  his  wry  mouth  and  haughty  voice;  drawing  himself  up 
as  stiflf  as  a  poker,  he  began  to  speak  to  this  effect:  "The 
Duke  says  he  wants  you  to  tell  him  how  much  you  ask  for 
your    Perseus."      I    remained    dumfounded    and    astonished; 


MEMOIRS 


389 


yet  I  quickly  replied  that  it  was  not  my  custom  to  put  prices 
on  my  work,  and  that  this  was  not  what  his  Excellency  had 
promised  me  two  days  ago.  The  man  raised  his  voice,  and 
ordered  me  expressly  in  the  Duke's  name,  under  the  penalty 
of  his  severe  displeasure,  to  say  how  much  I  wanted.  Now  I 
had  hoped  not  only  to  gain  some  handsome  reward,  trusting 
to  the  mighty  signs  of  kindness  shown  me  by  the  Duke,  but 
I  had  still  more  expected  to  secure  the  entire  good  graces  of 
his  Excellency,  seeing  I  never  asked  for  anything,  but  only 
for  his  favour.  Accordingly,  this  wholly  unexpected  way  of 
dealing  with  me  put  me  in  a  fury,  and  I  was  especially  en- 
raged by  the  manner  which  that  venomous  toad  assumed  in 
discharging  his  commission.  I  exclaimed  that  if  the  Duke 
gave  me  ten  thousand  crowns  I  should  not  be  paid  enough, 
and  that  if  I  had  ever  thought  things  would  come  to  this  hag- 
gling, I  should  not  have  settled  in  his  service.  Thereupon 
the  surly  fellow  began  to  abuse  me,  and  I  gave  it  him  back 
again. 

Upon  the  following  day,  when  I  paid  my  respects  to  the 
Duke,  he  beckoned  to  me.  I  approached,  and  he  exclaimed 
in  anger:  "  Cities  and  great  palaces  are  built  with  ten  thou- 
sands of  ducats."  I  rejoined:  "  Your  Excellency  can  find  mul- 
titudes of  men  who  are  able  to  build  you  cities  and  palaces, 
but  you  will  not,  perhaps,  find  one  man  in  the  world  who 
could  make  a  second  Perseus."  Then  I  took  my  leave  with- 
out saying  or  doing  anything  farther.  A  few  days  afterward 
the  Duchess  sent  for  me,  and  advised  me  to  put  my  difference 
with  the  Duke  into  her  hands,  since  she  thought  she  could 
conduct  the  business  to  my  satisfaction.  On  hearing  these 
kindly  words  I  replied  that  I  had  never  asked  any  other  recom- 
pense for  my  labours  than  the  good  graces  of  the  Duke,  and 
that  his  most  illustrious  Excellency  had  assured  me  of  this; 
it  was  not  needful  that  I  should  place  in  their  Excellencies' 
hands  what  I  had  always  frankly  left  to  them  from  the  first 
days  when  I  undertook  their  service.  I  farther  added  that  if 
his  most  illustrious  Excellency  gave  me  but  a  crazia,  which 
is  worth  five  farthings,  for  my  work,  I  should  consider  mvself 
contented,  provided  only  that  his  Excellency  did  not  deprive 
me  of  his  favour.  At  these  words  the  Duchess  smiled  a  little 
and  said:  "  Benvenuto,  you  would  do  well  to  act  as  I  advise 
you."    Then  she  turned  her  back  and  left  me.     I  thought  it 


^go  CELLINI 

was  my  best  policy  to  speak  with  the  humiUty  I  have  above 

described;  yet  it  turned  out  that  1  had  done  the  worst  for 

myself,  because,  albeit  she  had  harboured  some  angry  feelings 

toward  me,  she  had  in  her  a  certain  way  of  dealing  which 

was  generous. 

^  XCVI 

About  that  time  I  was  very  intimate  with  Girolamo  degli 
Albizzi,^  commissary  of  the  Duke's  militia.  One  day  this 
friend  said  to  me:  "O  Benvenuto,  it  would  not  be  a  bad 
thing  to  put  your  little  difference  of  opinion  with  the  Duke 
to  rights;  and  I  assure  you  that  if  you  repose  confidence  in 
me,  I  feel  myself  the  man  to  settle  matters.  I  know  what 
I  am  saying.  The  Duke  is  getting  really  angry,  and  you 
will  come  badly  out  of  the  affair.  Let  this  suffice;  I  am  not 
at  liberty  to  say  all  I  know."  Now,  subsequently  to  that  con- 
versation with  the  Duchess,  I  had  been  told  by  some  one, 
possibly  a  rogue,  that  he  had  heard  how  the  Duke  said  upon 
some  occasion  which  offered  itself:  "For  less  than  two  far- 
things I  will  throw  Perseus  to  the  dogs,  and  so  our  differences 
will  be  ended."  This,  then,  made  me  anxious,  and  induced 
me  to  entrust  Girolamo  degli  Albizzi  with  the  negotiations, 
telling  him  anything  would  satisfy  me  provided  I  retained 
the  good  graces  of  the  Duke.  That  honest  fellow  was  excel- 
lent in  all  his  dealings  with  soldiers,  especially  with  the  militia, 
who  are  for  the  most  part  rustics;  but  he  had  no  taste  for 
statuary,  and  therefore  could  not  understand  its  conditions. 
Consequently,  when  he  spoke  to  the  Duke,  he  began  thus: 
"  Prince,  Benvenuto  has  placed  himself  in  my  hands,  and  has 
begged  me  to  recommend  him  to  your  Excellency."  The 
Duke  replied :  "  I  too  am  willing  to  refer  myself  to  you,  and 
shall  be  satisfied  with  your  decision."  Thereupon  Girolamo 
composed  a  letter,  with  much  skill  and  greatly  to  my  honour, 
fixing  the  sum  which  the  Duke  would  have  to  pay  me  at 
3500  golden  crowns  in  gold;  and  this  should  not  be  taken  as 
my  proper  recompense  for  such  a  masterpiece,  but  only  as  a 
kind  of  gratuity;  enough  to  say  that  I  was  satisfied;  with 
many  other  phrases  of  like  tenor,  all  of  which  implied  the 
price  which  I  have  mentioned. 

'  A  warm  partisan  of  the  Medici.  He  was  a  cousin  of  Maria  Salviati, 
Cosimo's  mother.  It  was  rumoured  that  he  caused  the  historian  Fran- 
cesco Guicciardini's  death  by  poison. 


MEMOIRS 


391 


The  Duke  signed  this  agreement  as  gladly  as  I  took  it 
sadly.  When  the  Duchess  heard,  she  said:  "  It  would  have 
been  better  for  that  poor  man  if  he  had  placed  himself  in 
my  hands;  I  could  have  got  him  five  thousand  crowns  in 
gold."  One  day,  when  I  went  to  the  palace,  she  repeated 
these  same  words  to  me  in  the  presence  of  Messer  Alamanno 
Salviati,^  and  laughed  at  me  a  little,  saying  that  I  deserved 
my  bad  luck. 

The  Duke  gave  orders  that  I  should  receive  a  hundred 
golden  crowns  in  gold  per  month,  until  the  sum  was  dis- 
charged; and  thus  it  ran  for  some  months.  Afterward, 
Messer  Antonio  de'  Nobili,  who  had  to  transact  the  business, 
began  to  give  me  fifty,  and  sometimes  later  on  he  gave  me 
twenty-five,  and  sometimes  nothing.  Accordingly,  when  I 
saw  that  the  settlement  was  being  thus  deferred,  I  spoke 
good-humouredly  to  Messer  Antonio,  and  begged  him  to  ex- 
plain why  he  did  not  complete  my  payments.  He  answered 
in  a  like  tone  of  politeness;  yet  it  struck  me  that  he  exposed 
his  own  mind  too  much.  Let  the  reader  judge.  He  began 
by  saying  that  the  sole  reason  why  he  could  not  go  forward 
regularly  with  these  payments,  was  the  scarcity  of  money 
at  the  palace;  but  he  promised,  when  cash  came  in,  to  dis- 
charge arrears.  Then  he  added:  "Oh  heavens!  if  I  did  not 
pay  you,  I  should  be  an  utter  rogue."  I  was  somewhat 
surprised  to  hear  him  speak  in  that  way;  yet  I  resolved  to 
hope  that  he  would  pay  me  when  he  had  the  power  to  do 
so.  But  when  I  observed  that  things  went  quite  the  con- 
trary way,  and  saw  that  I  was  being  pillaged,  I  lost  temper 
with  the  man,  and  recalled  to  his  memory  hotly  and  in  anger 
what  he  had  declared  he  would  be  if  he  did  not  pay  me.  How- 
ever, he  died;  and  five  hundred  crowns  are  still  owing  to 
me  at  the  present  date,  which  is  nigh  upon  the  end  of  1566.=^ 
There  was  also  a  balance  due  upon  my  salary,  which  I  thought 
would  be  forgotten,  since  three  years  had  elapsed  without  pay- 
ment. But  it  so  happened  that  the  Duke  fell  ill  of  a  serious 
malady.  Finding  that  the  remedies  of  his  physicians  availed 
nothing,  it  is  probable  that  he  betook  himself  to  God,  and 

'  This  Salviati  and  the  De'  Nobili  mentioned  afterward  occupied  a  dis- 
tinguished place  in  Florentine  annals  as  partisans  of  the  Medici. 

'Cellini  began  to  write  his  "Memoirs"  in  1558.  Eight  years  had 
therefore  now  elapsed. 


392  CELLINI 

therefore  decreed  the  discharge  of  all  debts  to  his  servants. 
I  too  was  paid  on  this  occasion,  yet  I  never  obtained  what 
still  stood  out  upon  my  Perseus. 

XCVII 

I  had  almost  determined  to  say  nothing  more  about  that 
unlucky  Perseus;  but  a  most  remarkable  incident,  which  I 
do  not  like  to  omit,  obliges  me  to  do  so;  wherefore  I  must 
now  turn  back  a  bit,  to  gather  up  the  thread  of  my  narration. 
I  thought  I  was  acting  for  the  best  when  I  told  the  Duchess 
that  I  could  not  compromise  affairs  which  were  no  longer  in 
my  hands,  seeing  I  had  informed  the  Duke  that  I  should 
gladly  accept  whatever  he  chose  to  give  me.  I  said  this  in  the 
hope  of  gaining  favour;  and  with  this  manifestation  of  sub- 
missiveness  I  employed  every  likely  means  of  pacifying  his 
resentment;  for  I  ought  to  add  that  a  few  days  before  he 
came  to  terms  with  Albizzi,  the  Duke  had  shown  he  was  ex- 
cessively displeased  with  me.  The  reason  was  as  follows: 
I  complained  of  some  abominable  acts  of  injustice  done  to  me 
by  Messer  Alfonso  Quistelli,  Messer  Jacopo  Polverino  of  the 
Exchequer,  and  more  than  all  by  Ser  Giovanbattista  Brandini 
of  Volterra.  When,  therefore,  I  set  forth  my  cause  with  some 
vehemence,  the  Duke  flew  into  the  greatest  rage  conceivable. 
Being  thus  in  anger,  he  exclaimed:  "This  is  just  the  same 
as  with  your  Perseus,  when  you  asked  those  ten  thousand 
crowns.  You  let  yourself  be  blinded  by  mere  cupidity.  There- 
fore I  shall  have  the  statue  valued,  and  shall  give  you  what 
the  experts  think  it  worth."  To  these  words  I  replied  with 
too  much  daring  and  a  touch  of  indignation,  which  is  always 
out  of  place  in  dealing  with  great  princes:  "  How  is  it  pos- 
sible that  my  work  should  be  valued  at  its  proper  worth  when 
there  is  not  a  man  in  Florence  capable  of  performing  it?" 
That  increased  his  irritation ;  he  uttered  many  furious  phrases, 
and  among  them  said:  "There  is  in  Florence  at  this  day  a 
man  well  able  to  make  such  a  statue,  and  who  is  therefore 
highly  capable  of  judging  it."  He  meant  Bandinello,  Cava- 
liere  of  S.  Jacopo.^  Then  I  rejoined:  "  My  lord,  your  most 
illustrious  Excellency  gave  me  the  means  of  producing  an 
important  and  very  difficult  masterpiece  in  the  midst  of  this 
the  noblest  school  of  the  world;  and  my  work  has  been  re- 

'  Bandinelli  was  a  Knight  of  St.  James  of  Composella, 


MEMOIRS 


393 


ceived  with  warmer  praises  than  any  other  heretofore  exposed 
before  the  gaze  of  our  incomparable  masters.  My  chief  pride 
is  the  commendation  of  those  able  men  who  both  understand 
and  practise  the  arts  of  design — as  in  particular  Bronzino,  the 
painter;  this  man  set  himself  to  work,  and  composed  four 
sonnets  couched  in  the  choicest  style,  and  full  of  honour  to 
myself.  Perhaps  it  was  his  example  which  moved  the  whole 
city  to  such  a  tumult  of  enthusiasm.  I  freely  admit  that  if 
sculpture  were  his  business  instead  of  painting,  then  Bronzino 
might  have  been  equal  to  a  task  like  mine.  Michel  Agnolo 
Buonarroti,  again,  whom  I  am  proud  to  call  my  master;  he, 
I  admit,  could  have  achieved  the  same  success  when  he  was 
young,  but  not  with  less  fatigue  and  trouble  than  I  endured. 
But  now  that  he  is  far  advanced  in  years,  he  would  most  cer- 
tainly be  found  unequal  to  the  strain.  Therefore  I  think  I 
am  justified  in  saying  that  no  man  known  upon  this  earth 
could  have  produced  my  Perseus.  For  the  rest,  my  work  has 
received  the  greatest  reward  I  could  have  wished  for  in  this 
world;  chiefly  and  especially  because  your  most  illustrious 
Excellency  not  only  expressed  yourself  satisfied,  but  praised 
it  far  more  highly  than  any  one  beside.  What  greater  and 
more  honourable  prize  could  be  desired  by  me?  I  afBrm 
most  emphatically  that  your  Excellency  could  not  pay  me 
with  more  glorious  coin,  nor  add  from  any  treasury  a  wealth 
surpassing  this.  Therefore  I  hold  myself  overpaid  already, 
and  return  thanks  to  your  most  illustrious  Excellency  with 
all  my  heart."  The  Duke  made  answer:  "  Probably  you  think 
I  have  not  the  money  to  pay  you.  For  my  part,  I  promise 
you  that  I  shall  pay  you  more  for  the  statue  than  it  is  worth." 
Then  I  retorted:  "  I  did  not  picture  to  my  fancy  any  better 
recompense  from  your  Excellency;  yet  I  account  myself 
amply  remunerated  by  that  first  reward  which  the  school  of 
Florence  gave  me.  With  this  to  console  me,  I  shall  take  my 
departure  on  the  instant,  without  returning  to  the  house  you 
gave  me,  and  shall  never  seek  to  set  my  foot  in  this  town 
again."  We  were  just  at  S.  Felicita,  and  his  Excellency  was 
proceeding  to  the  palace.  When  he  heard  these  choleric 
words,  he  turned  upon  me  in  stern  anger  and  exclaimed: 
"You  shall  not  go;  take  heed  you  do  not  go!"  Half  terri- 
fied, I  then  followed  him  to  the  palace. 

On  arriving  there,  his  Excellency  sent  for  the  Archbishop 


394 


CELLINI 


of  Pisa,  named  De'  Bartolini,  and  Messer  Pandolfo  della 
Stufa/  requesting  them  to  order  Baccio  Bandinello,  in  his 
name,  to  examine  well  my  Perseus  and  value  it,  since  he 
wished  to  pay  its  exact  price.  These  excellent  men  went  forth- 
with and  performed  their  embassy.  In  reply  Bandinello  said 
that  he  had  examined  the  statue  minutely,  and  knew  well 
enough  what  it  was  worth;  but  having  been  on  bad  terms 
otherwise  with  me  for  some  time  past,  he  did  not  care  to  be 
entangled  anyhow  in  my  affairs.  Then  they  began  to  put  a 
gentle  pressure  on  him,  saying:  "The  Duke  ordered  us  to 
tell  you,  under  pain  of  his  displeasure,  that  you  are  to  value 
the  statue,  and  you  may  have  two  or  three  days  to  consider 
your  estimate.  When  you  have  done  so,  tell  us  at  what  price 
it  ought  to  be  paid."  He  answered  that  his  judgment  was 
already  formed,  that  he  could  not  disobey  the  Duke,  and  that 
my  work  was  rich  and  beautiful  and  excellent  in  execution; 
therefore  he  thought  sixteen  thousand  crowns  or  more  would 
not  be  an  excessive  price  for  it.  Those  good  and  courteous 
gentlemen  reported  this  to  the  Duke,  who  was  mightily  en- 
raged; they  also  told  the  same  to  me.  I  replied  that  nothing 
in  the  world  would  induce  me  to  take  praise  from  Bandinello, 
"  seeing  that  this  bad  man  speaks  ill  of  everybody."  My 
words  were  carried  to  the  Duke;  and  that  was  the  reason  why 
the  Duchess  wanted  me  to  place  the  matter  in  her  hands. 
All  that  I  have  written  is  the  pure  truth.  I  will  only  add  that 
I  ought  to  have  trusted  to  her  intervention,  for  then  I  should 
have  been  quickly  paid,  and  should  have  received  so  much 

more  into  the  bargain. 

XCVIII 

The  Duke  sent  me  word  by  Messer  Lelio  Torello,*  his 
Master  of  the  Rolls,  that  he  wanted  me  to  execute  some  bas- 
reliefs  in  bronze  for  the  choir  of  S.  Maria  del  Fiore.  Now 
the  choir  was  by  Bandinello,  and  I  did  not  choose  to  enrich 
his  bad  work  with  my  labours.  He  had  not  indeed  designed 
it,  for  he  understood  nothing  whatever  about  architecture; 

'  Onofrio  de'  Bartolini  was  made  Archbishop  of  Pisa  in  1518,  at  the 
age  of  about  seventeen.  He  was  a  devoted  adherent  of  the  Medici.  He 
was  shut  up  with  Clement  in  S.  Angelo,  and  sent  as  hostage  to  the  Im- 
perial army.  Pandolfo  della  Stufa  had  been  cup-bearer  to  Caterina  de' 
Medici  while  Dauphiness. 

'  A  native  of  Fano.  Cosimo's  Auditore,  1539;  first  Secretary  or  Grand 
Chancellor,  1546.     He  was  a  great  jurist. 


MEMOIRS 


395 


the  design  was  given  by  Giuliano,  the  son  of  that  Baccio 
d'Agnolo,  the  wood-carver,  who  spoiled  the  cupola.^  Suffice 
it  to  say  that  it  shows  no  talent.  For  both  reasons  I  was  de- 
termined not  to  undertake  the  task,  although  I  told  the  Duke 
politely  that  I  would  do  whatever  his  most  illustrious  Excel- 
lency ordered.  Accordingly,  he  put  the  matter  into  the  hands 
of  the  Board  of  Works  for  S.  Maria  del  Fiore,  telling  them 
to  come  to  an  agreement  with  me;  he  would  continue  my 
allowance  of  two  hundred  crowns  a  year,  while  they  were 
to  supply  the  rest  out  of  their  funds. 

In  due  course  I  came  before  the  Board,  and  they  told  me 
what  the  Duke  had  arranged.  Feeling  that  I  could  explain 
my  views  more  frankly  to  these  gentlemen,  I  began  by  dem- 
onstrating that  so  many  histories  in  bronze  would  cost  a  vast 
amount  of  money,  which  would  be  totally  thrown  away,  giv- 
ing all  my  reasons,  which  they  fully  appreciated.  In  the  first 
place,  I  said  that  the  construction  of  the  choir  was  altogether 
incorrect,  without  proportion,  art,  convenience,  grace,  or  good 
design.  In  the  next  place,  the  bas-reliefs  would  have  to  stand 
too  low,  beneath  the  proper  line  of  vision.  Consequently,  I 
declined  positively  to  execute  them.  However,  since  I  did 
not  wish  to  throw  away  the  best  years  of  my  life,  and  was 
eager  to  serve  his  most  illustrious  Excellency,  whom  I  had 
the  sincerest  desire  to  gratify  and  obey,  I  made  the  following 
proposal.  Let  the  Duke,  if  he  wants  to  employ  my  talents, 
give  me  the  middle  door  of  the  cathedral  to  perform  in 
bronze.  This  would  be  well  seen,  and  would  confer  far  more 
glory  on  his  most  illustrious  Excellency.  I  would  bind  myself 
by  contract  to  receive  no  remuneration  unless  I  produced 
something  better  than  the  finest  of  the  Baptistery  doors.  But 
if  I  completed  it  according  to  my  promise,  then  I  was  willing 
to  have  it  valued,  and  to  receive  one  thousand  crowns  less  than 
the  estimate  made  by  experts. 

The  members  of  the  Board  were  well  pleased  with  this 
suggestion,  and  went  at  once  to  report  the  matter  to  the 
Duke,  among  them  being  Piero  Salviati.  They  expected  him 
to  be  extremely  gratified  with  their  communication,  but  it 
turned  out  just  the  contrary.     He  replied  that  I  was  always 

'  It  was  Baccio  d'Agnolo  who  altered  Brunelleschi's  plan  for  the  cupola. 
Buonarroti  used  to  say  that  he  made  it  look  like  a  cage  for  crickets.  His 
work  remained  unfinished. 


396  CELLINI 

wanting  to  do  the  exact  opposite  of  what  he  bade  me;  and  so 
Piero  left  him  without  coming  to  any  conclusion.  On  hear- 
ing this,  I  went  ofif  to  the  Duke  at  once,  who  displayed  some 
irritation  when  he  saw  me.  However,  I  begged  him  to  con- 
descend to  hear  me,  and  he  replied  that  he  was  willing.  I 
then  began  from  the  beginning,  and  used  such  convincing 
arguments  that  he  saw  at  last  how  the  matter  really  stood, 
since  I  made  it  evident  that  he  would  only  be  throwing  a  large 
sum  of  money  away.  Then  I  softened  his  temper  by  suggest- 
ing that  if  his  most  illustrious  Excellency  did  not  care  to  have 
the  door  begun,  two  pulpits  had  anyhow  to  be  made  for  the 
choir,  and  that  these  would  both  of  them  be  considerable 
works,  which  would  confer  glory  on  his  reign;  for  my  part, 
I  was  ready  to  execute  a  great  number  of  bronze  bas-reliefs 
with  appropriate  decorations.  In  this  way  I  brought  him 
round,  and  he  gave  me  orders  to  construct  the  models. 

Accordingly  I  set  at  work  on  several  models,  and  be- 
stowed immense  pains  on  them.  Among  these  there  was 
one  with  eight  panels,  carried  out  with  far  more  science 
than  the  rest,  which  seemed  to  me  more  fitted  for  the  pur- 
pose. After  I  had  taken  them  several  times  to  the  palace, 
his  Excellency  sent  word  by  Messer  Cesare,  the  keeper  of 
his  wardrobe,  that  I  should  leave  them  there.  After  the  Duke 
had  inspected  them,  I  perceived  that  he  had  selected  the  least 
beautiful.  One  day  he  sent  for  me,  and  during  our  conversa- 
tion about  the  models,  I  gave  many  reasons  why  the  octagonal 
pulpit  would  be  far  more  convenient  for  its  destined  uses,  and 
would  produce  a  much  finer  effect.  He  answered  that  he 
wished  me  to  make  it  square,  because  he  liked  that  form 
better;  and  thus  he  went  on  conversing  for  some  time  very 
pleasantly.  I  meanwhile  lost  no  opportunity  of  saying  every- 
thing I  could  in  the  interest  of  art.  Now  whether  the  Duke 
knew  that  I  had  spoken  the  truth,  or  whether  he  wanted  to 
have  his  own  way,  a  long  time  passed  before  I  heard  anything 

more  about  it. 

XCIX 

About  this  time  the  great  block  of  marble  arrived  which 
was  intended  for  the  Neptune.  It  had  been  brought  up  the 
Arno,  and  then  by  the  Grieve  ^  to  the  road  at  Poggio  a  Caiano, 

'  Instead  of  the  Grieve,  which  is  not  a  navigable  stream,  it  appears 
that  Cellini  ought  to  have  written  the  Ombrone. 


MEMOIRS 


397 


in  ofder  to  be  carried  to  Florence  by  that  level  way;  and 
there  I  went  to  see  it.  Now  I  knew  very  well  that  the  Duchess 
by  her  special  influence  had  managed  to  have  it  given  to 
Bandinello.  No  envy  prompted  me  to  dispute  his  claims, 
but  rather  pity  for  that  poor  unfortunate  piece  of  marble. 
Observe,  by  the  way,  that  everything,  whatever  it  may  be, 
which  is  subject  to  an  evil  destiny,  although  one  tries  to  save 
it  from  some  manifest  evil,  falls  at  once  into  far  worse  plight; 
as  happened  to  this  marble  when  it  came  into  the  hands  of 
Bartolommeo  Ammanato,^  of  whom  I  shall  speak  the  truth 
in  its  proper  place.  After  inspecting  this  most  splendid  block, 
I  measured  it  in  every  direction,  and  on  returning  to  Flor- 
ence, made  several  little  models  suited  to  its  proportions. 
Then  I  went  to  Poggio  a  Caiano,  where  the  Duke  and  Duch- 
ess were  staying,  with  their  son  the  Prince.  I  found  them 
all  at  table,  the  Duke  and  Duchess  dining  in  a  private  apart- 
ment; so  I  entered  into  conversation  with  the  Prince.  We 
had  been  speaking  for  a  long  while,  when  the  Duke,  who  was 
in  a  room  adjacent,  heard  my  voice,  and  condescended  very 
graciously  to  send  for  me.  When  I  presented  myself  before 
their  Excellencies,  the  Duchess  addressed  me  in  a  very  pleas- 
ant tone;  and  having  thus  opened  the  conversation,  I  grad- 
ually introduced  the  subject  of  that  noble  block  of  marble 
I  had  seen.  I  then  proceeded  to  remark  that  their  ancestors 
had  brought  the  magnificent  school  of  Florence  to  such  a 
pitch  of  excellence  only  by  stimulating  competition  among 
artists  in  their  several  branches.  It  was  thus  that  the  won- 
derful cupola  and  the  lovely  doors  of  San  Giovanni  had  been 
produced,  together  with  those  multitudes  of  handsome  edi- 
fices and  statues  which  made  a  crown  of  artistic  glory  for 
their  city  above  anything  the  world  had  seen  since  the  days  of 
the  ancients.  Upon  this  the  Duchess,  with  some  anger,  ob- 
served that  she  very  well  knew  what  I  meant,  and  bade  me 
never  mention  that  block  of  marble  in  her  presence,  since 
she  did  not  like  it.  I  replied:  "  So,  then,  you  do  not  like  me 
to  act  as  the  attorney  of  your  Excellencies,  and  to  do  my 
utmost  to  ensure  your  being  better  served?  Reflect  upon  it, 
my  lady;  if  your  most  illustrious  Excellencies  think  lit  to 

'  This  sculptor  was  born  in  1511,  and  died  in  1592.     He  worked  under 
Bandinelli  and  Sansovino. 


398 


CELLINI 


open  the  model  for  a  Neptune  to  competition,  although  you 
are  resolved  to  give  it  to  Bandinello,  this  will  urge  Bandinello 
for  his  own  credit  to  display  greater  art  and  science  than  if 
he  knew  he  had  no  rivals.  In  this  way,  my  princes,  you  will 
be  far  better  served,  and  will  not  discourage  our  school  of 
artists;  you  will  be  able  to  perceive  which  of  us  is  eager  to 
excel  in  the  grand  style  of  our  noble  calling,  and  will  show 
yourselves  princes  who  enjoy  and  understand  the  fine  arts." 
The  Duchess,  in  a  great  rage,  told  me  that  I  tired  her  patience 
out;  she  wanted  the  marble  for  Bandinello,  adding:  "Ask 
the  Duke;  for  his  Excellency  also  means  Bandinello  to  have 
it."  When  the  Duchess  had  spoken,  the  Duke,  who  had  kept 
silence  up  to  this  time,  said:  "Twenty  years  ago  I  had  that 
fine  block  quarried  especially  for  Bandinello,  and  so  I  mean 
that  Bandinello  shall  have  it  to  do  what  he  likes  with  it."  I 
turned  to  the  Duke  and  spoke  as  follows:  "  My  lord,  I  en- 
treat your  most  illustrious  Excellency  to  lend  a  patient  hear- 
ing while  I  speak  four  words  in  your  service."  He  told  me  to 
say  all  I  wanted,  and  that  he  would  listen.  Then  I  began: 
"  You  will  remember,  my  lord,  that  the  marble  which  Bandi- 
nello used  for  his  Hercules  and  Cacus  was  quarried  for  our 
incomparable  Michel  Agnolo  Buonarroti.  He  had  made  the 
model  for  a  Samson  with  four  figures,  which  would  have  been 
the  finest  masterpiece  in  the  whole  world;  but  your  Bandi- 
nello got  out  of  it  only  two  figures,  both  ill-executed  and 
bungled  in  the  worst  manner;  wherefore  our  school  still  ex- 
claims against  the  great  wrong  which  was  done  to  that  mag- 
nificent block.  I  believe  that  more  than  a  thousand  sonnets 
were  put  up  in  abuse  of  that  detestable  performance;  and  I 
know  that  your  most  illustrious  Excellency  remembers  the 
fact  very  well.  Therefore,  my  powerful  prince,  seeing  how 
the  men  to  whose  care  that  work  was  entrusted,  in  their  want 
of  taste  and  wisdom,  took  Michel  Agnolo's  marble  away  from 
him,  and  gave  it  to  Bandinello,  who  spoilt  it  in  the  way  the 
whole  world  knows,  oh!  will  you  sufifer  this  far  more  splendid 
block,  although  it  belongs  to  Bandinello,  to  remain  in  the 
hands  of  that  man  who  can  not  help  mangling  it,  instead  of 
giving  it  to  some  artist  of  talent  capable  of  doing  it  full  jus- 
tice? Arrange,  my  lord,  that  every  one  who  likes  shall  make 
a  model;  have  them  all  exhibited  to  the  school;  you  then 
will  hear  what  the  school  thinks;  your  own  good  judgment 


MEMOIRS  399 

will  enable  you  to  select  the  best;  in  this  way,  finally,  you 
will  not  throw  away  your  money,  nor  discourage  a  band  of 
artists  the  like  of  whom  is  not  to  be  found  at  present  in  the 
world,  and  who  form  the  glory  of  your  most  illustrious  Ex- 
cellency." 

The  Duke  listened  with  the  utmost  graciousness;  then  he 
rose  from  table,  and  turning  to  me,  said:  "Go,  my  Benve- 
nuto,  make  a  model,  and  earn  that  fine  marble  for  yourself; 
for  what  you  say  is  the  truth,  and  I  acknowledge  it."  The 
Duchess  tossed  her  head  defiantly,  and  muttered  I  know  not 
what  angry  sentences. 

I  made  them  a  respectful  bow  and  returned  to  Florence, 
burning  with  eagerness  to  set  hands  upon  my  model. 


When  the  Duke  came  to  Florence,  he  sought  me  at  my 
house  without  giving  me  previous  notice.  I  showed  him  two 
little  models  of  different  design.  Though  he  praised  them 
both,  he  said  that  one  of  them  pleased  him  better  than  the 
other;  I  was  to  finish  the  one  he  liked  with  care;  and  this 
would  be  to  my  advantage.  Now  his  Excellency  had  already 
seen  Bandinello's  designs,  and  those  of  other  sculptors;  but, 
as  I  was  informed  by  many  of  his  courtiers  who  had  heard 
him,  he  commended  mine  far  above  the  rest.  Among  other 
matters  worthy  of  record  and  of  great  weight  upon  this  point, 
I  will  mention  the  following.  The  Cardinal  of  Santa  Fiore 
was  on  a  visit  to  Florence,  and  the  Duke  took  him  to  Poggio 
a  Caiano.  Upon  the  road,  noticing  the  marble  as  he  passed, 
the  Cardinal  praised  it  highly,  inquiring  of  his  Excellency 
for  what  sculptor  he  intended  it.  The  Duke  replied  at  once: 
"  For  my  friend  Benvenuto,  who  has  made  a  splendid  model 
with  a  view  to  it."  This  was  reported  to  me  by  men  whom 
I  could  trust. 

Hearing  what  the  Duke  had  said,  I  went  to  the  Duchess, 
and  took  her  some  small  bits  of  goldsmith's  work,  which 
greatly  pleased  her  Excellency.  Then  she  asked  what  I  was 
doing,  and  I  replied:  "  My  lady,  I  have  taken  in  hand  for  my 
pleasure  one  of  the  most  laborious  pieces  which  have  ever 
been  produced.  It  is  a  Christ  of  the  whitest  marble  set  upon 
a  cross  of  the  blackest,  exactly  of  the  same  size  as  a  tall  man. 
She  immediately  inquired  what  I  meant  to  do  with  it.     I  an- 


400  CELLINI 

swered:  "You  must  know,  my  lady,  that  I  would  not  sell 
it  for  two  thousand  golden  ducats;  it  is  of  such  difficult  exe- 
cution that  I  think  no  man  ever  attempted  the  like  before; 
nor  would  I  have  undertaken  it  at  the  commission  of  any 
prince  whatever,  for  fear  I  might  prove  inadequate  to  the 
task.  I  bought  the  marbles  with  my  own  money,  and  have 
kept  a  young  man  some  two  years  as  my  assistant  in  the 
work.  What  with  the  stone,  the  iron  frame  to  hold  it  up, 
and  the  wages,  it  has  cost  me  above  three  hundred  crowns. 
Consequently,  I  would  not  sell  it  for  two  thousand.  But  if 
your  Excellency  deigns  to  grant  me  a  favour  which  is  wholly 
blameless,  I  shall  be  delighted  to  make  you  a  present  of  it. 
All  I  ask  is  that  your  Excellency  will  not  use  your  influence 
either  against  or  for  the  models  which  the  Duke  has  ordered 
to  be  made  of  the  Neptune  for  that  great  block  of  marble." 
She  replied  with  mighty  indignation :  "  So  then  you  value 
neither  my  help  nor  my  opposition?"  "On  the  contrary, 
I  value  them  highly,  princess;  or  why  am  I  offering  to  give 
you  what  I  value  at  two  thousand  ducats?  But  I  have  such 
confidence  in  my  laborious  and  well-trained  studies,  that  I 
hope  to  win  the  palm,  even  against  the  great  Michel  Agnolo 
Buonarroti,  from  whom  and  from  no  one  else  I  have  learned 
all  that  I  know.  Indeed,  I  should  be  much  better  pleased 
to  enter  into  competition  with  him  who  knows  so  much  than 
with  those  others  who  know  but  little  of  their  art.  Contend- 
ing with  my  sublime  master,  I  could  gain  laurels  in  plenty, 
whereas  there  are  but  few  to  be  reaped  in  a  contest  with  these 
men."  After  I  had  spoken,  she  rose  in  a  half-angry  mood, 
and  I  returned  to  work  with  all  the  strength  I  had  upon 
my  model. 

When  it  was  finished,  the  Duke  came  to  see  it,  bringing 
with  him  two  ambassadors,  one  from  the  Duke  of  Ferrara, 
the  other  from  the  Signory  of  Lucca.  They  were  delighted, 
and  the  Duke  said  to  those  two  gentlemen :  "  Upon  my  word, 
Benvenuto  deserves  to  have  the  marble."  Then  they  both 
paid  me  the  highest  compliments,  especially  the  envoy  from 
Lucca,  who  was  a  person  of  accomplishments  and  learning. 
I  had  retired  to  some  distance  in  order  that  they  might  ex- 
change opinions  freely;  but  when  I  heard  that  I  was  being 
complimented,  I  came  up,  turned  to  the  Duke,  and  said:  "  My 
lord,  your  most  illustrious  Excellency  ought  now  to  employ 


MEMOIRS 


401 


another  admirable  device:  decree  that  every  one  who  likes 
shall  make  a  model  in  clay,  exactly  of  the  same  size  as  the 
marble  has  to  be.  In  this  way  you  will  be  able  to  judge  far 
better  who  deserves  the  commission;  and  I  may  observe  that 
if  your  Excellency  does  not  give  it  to  the  sculptor  who  de- 
serves it,  this  will  not  wrong  the  man  so  much,  but  will  reflect 
great  discredit  upon  yourself,  since  the  loss  and  shame  will 
fall  on  you.  On  the  other  hand,  if  you  award  it  to  the  one 
who  has  deserved  it,  you  will  acquire  great  glory  in  the  first 
place,  and  will  employ  your  treasure  well,  while  artists  will 
believe  that  you  appreciate  and  understand  their  business." 
No  sooner  had  I  finished  speaking  than  the  Duke  shrugged 
his  shoulders,  and  began  to  move  away.  While  they  were 
taking  leave,  the  ambassador  of  Lucca  said  to  the  Duke: 
"Prince,  this  Benvenuto  of  yours  is  a  terrible  man!"  The 
Duke  responded:  "He  is  much  more  terrible  than  you  im- 
agine, and  well  were  it  for  him  if  he  were  a  little  less  terrible; 
then  he  would  possess  at  the  present  moment  many  things 
which  he  has  not  got."  These  precise  words  were  reported 
to  me  by  the  envoy,  by  way  of  chiding  and  advising  me  to 
change  my  conduct.  I  told  him  that  I  had  the  greatest  wish 
to  oblige  my  lord  as  his  aflfectionate  and  faithful  servant,  but 
that  I  did  not  understand  the  arts  of  flattery.  Several  months 
after  this  date,  Bandinello  died;  and  it  was  thought  that,  in 
addition  to  his  intemperate  habits  of  life,  the  mortification  of 
having  probably  to  lose  the  marble  contributed  to  his  decline. 

CI 

Bandinello  had  received  information  of  the  crucifix  which, 
as  I  have  said  above,  I  was  now  engaged  upon.  Accord- 
ingly he  laid  his  hands  at  once  upon  a  block  of  marble,  and 
produced  the  Pieta  which  may  be  seen  in  the  church  of  the 
Annunziata.  Now  I  had  offered  my  crucifix  to  S.  Maria 
Novella,  and  had  already  fixed  up  the  iron  clamps  whereby 
I  meant  to  fasten  it  against  the  wall.  I  only  asked  for  per- 
mission to  construct  a  little  sarcophagus  upon  the  ground  be- 
neath the  feet  of  Christ,  into  which  I  might  creep  when  I  was 
dead.  The  friars  told  me  that  they  could  not  grant  this  with- 
out the  consent  of  their  building  committee.  I  replied:  "  Good 
brethren,  why  did  not  you  consult  your  committee  before 
you  allowed  me  to  place  my  crucifix?  Without  their  leave 
26 


402 


CELLINI 


you  suffered  me  to  fix  my  clamps  and  other  necessary  fit- 
tings." 

On  this  account  I  refused  to  give  those  fruits  of  my  enor- 
mous labours  to  the  church  of  S.  Maria  Novella,  even  though 
the  overseers  of  the  fabric  came  and  begged  me  for  the  cruci- 
fix. I  turned  at  once  to  the  church  of  the  Annunziata,  and 
when  I  explained  the  terms  on  which  I  had  sought  to  make 
a  present  of  it  to  S.  Maria  Novella,  those  virtuous  friars  of 
the  Nunziata  unanimously  told  me  to  place  it  in  their  church, 
and  let  me  make  my  grave  according  to  my  will  and  pleasure. 
When  Bandinello  became  aware  of  this,  he  set  to  work  with 
great  diligence  at  the  completion  of  his  Pieta,  and  prayed 
the  Duchess  to  get  for  him  Lhe  chapel  of  the  Pazzi  for  his 
monument.  This  he  obtained  with  some  difficulty;  and  on 
receiving  the  permission,  he  erected  his  Pieta  with  great  haste. 
It  was  not  altogether  completed  when  he  died. 

The  Duchess  then  said  that,  even  as  she  had  protected 
him  in  life,  so  would  she  protect  him  in  the  grave,  and  that 
albeit  he  was  dead,  I  need  never  try  to  get  that  block  of 
marble.  Apropos  of  which,  the  broker  Bernardone,  meeting 
me  one  day  in  the  country,  said  that  the  Duchess  had  assigned 
the  marble.  I  replied:  "  Unhappy  piece  of  stone!  In  the 
hands  of  Bandinello  it  would  certainly  have  come  to  grief; 
but  in  those  of  Ammanato  its  fate  is  a  hundred  times  worse." 
Now  I  had  received  orders  from  the  Duke  to  make  a  clay 
model,  of  the  same  size  as  the  marble  would  allow;  he  also 
provided  me  with  wood  and  clay,  set  up  a  sort  of  screen  in 
the  Loggia  where  my  Perseus  stands,  and  paid  me  one  work- 
man. I  went  about  my  business  with  all  diligence,  and  con- 
structed the  wooden  framework  according  to  my  excellent 
system.  Then  I  brought  the  model  successfully  to  a  conclu- 
sion, without  caring  whether  I  should  have  to  execute  it  in 
marble,  since  I  knew  the  Duchess  was  resolved  I  should  not 
get  the  commission.  Consequently  I  paid  no  heed  to  that. 
Only  I  felt  very  glad  to  undergo  this  labour,  hoping  to  make 
the  Duchess,  who  was  after  all  a  person  of  intelligence,  as 
indeed  I  had  the  means  of  observing  at  a  later  period,  repent 
of  having  done  so  great  a  wrong  both  to  the  marble  and  her- 
self. Giovanni  the  Fleming  also  made  a  model  in  the  cloister 
of  S.  Croce;  Vinzenzio  Danti  of  Perugia  another  in  the  house 
of  Messer  Ottaviano  de'  Medici;  the  son  of  Moschino  began 


r.WER    DESIGNED    AND    MADE    HV    CEELLNI 


MEMOIRS 


403 


a  third  at  Pisa,  and  Bartolommeo  Ammanato  a  fourth  in  the 
Loggia,  which  \vc  divided  between  us.^ 

When  I  had  blocked  tlie  whole  of  mine  out  well,  and 
wanted  to  begin  upon  the  details  of  the  head,  which  I  had 
already  just  sketched  out  in  outline,  the  Duke  came  down 
from  the  palace,  and  Giorgetto,  the  painter,^  took  him  into 
Ammanato's  workshed.  This  man  had  been  engaged  there 
with  his  own  hands  several  days,  in  company  with  Ammanato 
and  all  his  workpeople.  While,  then,  the  Duke  was  inspect- 
ing Ammanato's  model,  I  received  intelligence  that  he  seemed 
but  little  pleased  with  it.  In  spite  of  Giorgetto's  trying  to 
dose  him  with  his  fluent  nonsense,  the  Duke  shook  his  head, 
and  turning  to  Messer  Gianstefano,  exclaimed:  "  Go  and  ask 
Benvenuto  if  his  colossal  statue  is  far  enough  forward  for  him 
to  gratify  us  with  a  glance  at  it."  Messer  Gianstefano  dis- 
charged this  embassy  with  great  tact,  and  in  the  most  courte- 
ous terms.  He  added  that  if  I  did  not  think  my  work  quite 
ready  to  be  seen  yet,  I  might  say  so  frankly,  since  the  Duke 
knew  well  that  I  had  enjoyed  but  little  assistance  for  so  large 
an  undertaking.  I  replied  that  I  entreated  him  to  do  me 
the  favour  of  coming;  for  though  my  model  was  not  far  ad- 
vanced, yet  the  intelligence  of  his  Excellency  would  enable 
him  to  comprehend  perfectly  how  it  was  likely  to  look  when 
finished.  This  kindly  gentleman  took  back  my  message  to 
the  Duke,  who  came  with  pleasure.  No  sooner  had  he  en- 
tered the  enclosure  and  cast  his  eyes  upon  my  work,  than 
he  gave  signs  of  being  greatly  satisfied.  Then  he  walked  all 
round  it,  stopping  at  each  of  the  four  points  of  view,  exactly 
as  the  ripest  expert  would  have  done.  Afterward  he  showed 
by  nods  and  gestures  of  approval  that  it  pleased  him;  but  he 
said  no  more  than  this:  "  Benvenuto,  you  have  only  to  give  a 

'  Gian  Bologna,  or  Jean  Boullogne,  was  born  at  Douai  about  1530.  He 
went,  while  a  very  young  man,  to  Rome,  and  then  settled  at  Florence. 
There  he  first  gained  reputation  by  a  Venus  which  the  Prince  Francesco 
bought.  The  Neptune  on  the  piazza  at  Bologna,  which  is  his  work,  may 
probably  have  been  executed  from  the  model  he  made  in  competition 
upon  this  occasion.  Vincenzo  Danti  was  born  at  Perugia  in  1530.  He 
produced  the  bronze  statue  of  Pope  Julius  HI,  which  may  still  be  seen  in 
his  native  city.  Simone  Cioli,  called  II  Mosca,  was  a  very  fair  sculptor 
who  died  in  1554,  leaving  a  son,  Francesco,  called  II  Moschino,  who  was 
also  a  sculptor,  and  had  reached  the  age  of  thirty  at  this  epoch.  It  is 
therefore  to  this  Moschino  probably  that  Cellini  refers  above. 

'  Giorgio  Vasari. 
27 


404 


CELLINI 


little  surface  to  your  statue."  Then  he  turned  to  his  attend- 
ants, praising  my  performance,  and  saying:  "The  small 
model  which  I  saw  in  his  house  pleased  me  greatly,  but  this 
has  far  exceeded  it  in  merit." 

CII 

It  pleased  God,  who  rules  all  things  for  our  good — I  mean, 
for  those  w^ho  acknowledge  and  believe  in  Him;  such  men 
never  fail  to  gain  His  protection — that  about  this  time  a  cer- 
tain rascal  from  Vecchio  called  Piermaria  d'Anterigoli,  and 
surnamed  Lo  Sbietta,  introduced  himself  to  me.  He  is  a 
sheep-grazier;  and  being  closely  related  to  Messer  Guido 
Guidi,  the  physician,  who  is  now  provost  of  Pescia,  I  lent  ear 
to  his  proposals.  The  man  ofifered  to  sell  me  a  farm  of  his 
for  the  term  of  my  natural  life.  I  did  not  care  to  go  and  see 
it,  since  I  wanted  to  complete  the  model  of  my  colossal  Nep- 
tune. There  was  also  no  reason  why  I  should  visit  the  prop- 
erty, because  Sbietta  only  sold  it  to  me  for  the  income.  This 
he  had  noted  down  at  so  many  bushels  of  grain,  so  much  of 
wine,  oil,  standing  corn,  chestnuts,  and  other  produce.  I 
reckoned  that,  as  the  market  then  ran,  these  together  were 
worth  something  considerably  over  a  hundred  golden  crowns 
in  gold;  and  I  paid  him  650  crowns,  which  included  duties 
to  the  state.  Consequently,  when  he  left  a  memorandum 
written  in  his  own  hand,  to  the  eflfect  that  he  would  always 
keep  up  these  products  of  the  farm  in  the  same  values  during 
my  lifetime,  I  did  not  think  it  necessary  to  inspect  it.  Only 
I  made  inquiries,  to  the  best  of  my  ability,  as  to  whether 
Sbietta  and  his  brother  Ser  Filippo  were  well  oflf  enough  to 
give  me  good  security.  Many  persons,  of  divers  sorts,  who 
knew  them,  assured  me  that  my  security  was  excellent.  We 
agreed  to  call  in  Ser  Pierfrancesco  Bertoldi,  notary  at  the 
Mercantanzia;  and  at  the  very  first  I  handed  him  Sbietta's 
memorandum,  expecting  that  this  would  be  recited  in  the 
deed.  But  the  notary  who  drew  it  up  was  so  occupied  with 
detailing  twenty-two  boundaries  described  by  Sbietta,  that, 
so  far  as  I  can  judge,  he  neglected  to  include  in  the  contract 
what  the  vendor  had  proposed  to  furnish.  While  he  was 
writing,  T  went  on  working;  and  since  it  took  him  several 
hours,  I  finished  a  good  piece  of  my  Neptune's  head. 

After  the  contract  was  signed  and  sealed,  Sbietta  began  to 


MEMOIRS 


405 


pay  me  the  most  marked  attentions,  which  I  returned  in  like 
measure.  He  made  me  presents  of  kids,  cheese,  capons, 
fresh  curds,  and  many  sorts  of  fruit,  until  I  began  to  be  ahiiost 
ashamed  of  so  much  kindness.  In  exchange  for  these  courte- 
sies, I  always  took  him  from  the  inn  to  lodge  with  me  when 
he  came  into  Florence,  often  inviting  a  relative  or  two  who 
happened  to  attend  him.  On  one  of  these  occasions  he  told 
me  with  a  touch  of  pleasantry  that  it  was  really  shameful 
for  me  to  have  bought  a  farm,  and,  after  the  lapse  of  so  many 
weeks,  not  yet  to  have  left  my  business  for  three  days  in  the 
hands  of  my  workpeople,  so  as  to  have  come  to  look  at  it. 
His  wheedling  words  and  ways  induced  me  to  set  off,  in  a 
bad  hour  for  my  welfare,  on  a  visit  to  him.  Sbietta  received 
me  in  his  own  house  with  such  attentions  and  such  honours 
as  a  duke  might  covet.  His  wife  caressed  me  even  more  than 
he  did;  and  these  excellent  relations  continued  between  us 
until  the  plans  which  he  and  his  brother  Ser  Filippo  had  in 
mind  were  fully  matured. 

cm 

Meanwhile  I  did  not  suspend  my  labours  on  the  Neptune, 
which  was  now  quite  blocked  out  upon  an  excellent  system, 
undiscovered  and  unknown  before  I  used  it.  Consequently, 
although  I  knew  I  should  not  get  the  marble  for  the  reasons 
above  narrated,  I  hoped  to  have  it  soon  completed,  and  to 
display  it  on  the  piazza  simply  for  my  satisfaction. 

It  was  a  warm  and  pleasant  season;  and  this,  together  with 
the  attentions  of  those  two  rascals,  disposed  me  to  set  out  one 
Wednesday,  which  happened  to  be  a  double  holiday,  for  my 
country-house  at  Trespiano.  Having  spent  some  time  over 
an  excellent  lunch,  it  was  past  twenty  o'clock  when  I  reached 
Vicchio.  There,  at  the  town-gate,  I  met  Ser  Filippo,  who 
appeared  to  know  already  whither  I  was  bound.  He  loaded 
me  with  attentions,  and  took  me  to  Sbietta's  house,  where  I 
found  that  fellow's  wife,  who  also  overwhelmed  me  with 
caresses.  I  gave  the  woman  a  straw  hat  of  the  very  finest 
texture,  the  like  of  which  she  told  me  she  had  never  seen. 
Still,  up  to  this  time,  Sbietta  had  not  put  in  his  appearance. 

Toward  the  end  of  the  afternoon  we  all  sat  down  to  supper 
in  excellent  spirits.  Later,  they  gave  me  a  well-appointed 
bedroom,  where  I  went  to  rest  in  a  bed  of  the  most  perfect 
cleanliness.     Both  of  my  servants,  according  to  their  rank, 


4o6 


CELLINI 


were  equally  well  treated.  On  the  morrow,  when  I  rose,  the 
same  attentions  were  paid  me.  I  went  to  see  my  farm,  which 
pleased  me  much;  and  then  I  had  some  quantities  of  grain 
and  other  produce  handed  over.  But  when  I  returned  to 
Vicchio,  the  priest  Ser  Filippo  said  to  me:  '*  Benvenuto,  do 
not  be  uneasy ;  although  you  have  not  found  here  quite  every- 
thing you  had  the  right  to  look  for,  yet  put  your  mind  to 
rest;  it  will  be  amply  made  up  in  the  future,  for  you  have  to 
deal  with  honest  folk.  You  ought,  by  the  way,  to  know  that 
we  have  sent  that  labourer  away,  because  he  was  a  scoun- 
drel." The  labourer  in  question  bore  the  name  of  Mariano 
Rosegli;  and  this  man  now  kept  frequently  repeating  in  my 
ear:  "  Look  well  after  yourself;  in  the  end  you  will  discover 
which  of  us  here  is  the  greatest  villain."  The  country-fellow, 
when  he  spoke  those  words,  smiled  with  an  evil  kind  of  sneer, 
and  jerked  his  head  as  though  to  say:  "  Only  go  up  there, 
and  you  will  find  out  for  yourself." 

I  was  to  some  extent  unfavourably  influenced  by  these 
hints,  yet  far  from  forming  a  conception  of  what  actually  hap- 
pened to  me.  So,  when  I  returned  from  the  farm,  which  is 
two  miles  distant  from  Vicchio,  toward  the  Alpi,^  I  met  the 
priest,  who  was  waiting  for  me  with  his  customary  politeness. 
We  then  sat  down  together  to  breakfast;  it  was  not  so  much 
a  dinner  as  an  excellent  collation.  Afterward  I  took  a  walk 
through  Vicchio — the  market  had  just  opened — and  noticed 
how  all  the  inhabitants  fixed  their  eyes  upon  me,  as  on  some- 
thing strange.  This  struck  me  particularly  in  the  case  of  a 
worthy  old  man,  who  has  been  living  for  many  years  at  Vic- 
chio, and  whose  wife  bakes  bread  for  sale.  He  owns  some 
good  property  at  the  distance  of  about  a  mile;  however,  he 
prefers  this  mode  of  life,  and  occupies  a  house  which  belongs 
to  me  in  the  town  of  Vicchio.  This  had  been  consigned  to  me 
together  with  the  farm  above  mentioned,  which  bears  the 
name  of  Delia  Fonte.  The  worthy  old  man  spoke  as  follows: 
"  I  am  living  in  your  house,  and  when  it  falls  due  I  shall  pay 
you  your  rent;  but  if  you  want  it  earlier,  I  will  act  according 
to  your  wishes.  You  may  reckon  on  never  having  any  dis- 
putes with  me."  While  we  were  thus  talking  I  noticed  that 
he  looked  me  hard  in  the  face,  which  compelled  me  to  address 
him  thus:  "Prithee,  tell  me,  friend  Giovanni,  why  you  have 

'  The  Alpi  are  high  mountain  pastures  in  the  Apennines. 


MEMOIRS 


407 


more  than  once  stared  at  me  in  that  way?"  He  replied:  "  I 
am  quite  willing  to  tell  you,  if,  being  the  man  of  worth  I  take 
you  for,  you  will  promise  not  to  say  that  I  have  told  you." 
I  gave  the  promise  and  he  proceeded:  "  You  must  know  then 
that  that  worthless  priest,  Ser  Filippo,  not  many  days  since, 
went  about  boasting  of  his  brother  Sbietta's  cleverness,  and 
telling  how  he  had  sold  his  farm  to  an  old  man  for  his  lifetime, 
and  that  the  purchaser  could  hardly  live  the  year  out.  You 
have  got  mixed  up  with  a  set  of  rogues;  therefore  take  heed 
to  living  as  long  as  you  are  able,  and  keep  your  eyes  open, 
for  you  have  need  of  it.    I  do  not  choose  to  say  more." 

CIV 

During  my  promenade  through  the  market,  I  met  Giovan 
Battista  Santini,  and  he  and  I  were  taken  back  to  supper  by 
the  priest.  As  I  have  related  above,  we  supped  at  the  early 
hour  of  twenty,  because  I  made  it  known  that  I  meant  to  re- 
turn to  Trespiano.  Accordingly  they  made  all  ready;  the  wife 
of  Sbietta  went  bustling  about  in  the  company  of  one  Cec- 
chino  Buti,  their  knave  of  all  work.  After  the  salads  had  been 
mixed  and  we  were  preparing  to  sit  down  to  table,  that  evil 
priest,  with  a  certain  nasty  sort  of  grin,  exclaimed:  "  I  must 
beg  you  to  excuse  me,  for  I  can  not  sup  with  you ;  the  reason 
is  that  some  business  of  importance  has  occurred  which  I 
must  transact  for  my  brother  Sbietta.  In  his  absence  I  am 
obliged  to  act  for  him."  We  all  begged  him  to  stay,  but 
could  not  alter  his  determination;  so  he  departed  and  we 
began  our  supper.  After  we  had  eaten  the  salads  on  some 
common  platters,  and  they  were  preparing  to  serve  the  boiled 
meat,  each  guest  received  a  porringer  for  himself.  Santini, 
who  was  seated  opposite  me  at  table,  exclaimed:  "  Do  you 
notice  that  the  crockery  they  give  you  is  different  from  the 
rest?  Did  you  ever  see  anything  handsomer?  "  I  answered 
that  I  had  not  noticed  it.  He  also  prayed  me  to  invite  Sbietta's 
wife  to  sit  down  with  us;  for  she  and  that  Cecchino  Buti  kept 
running  hither  and  thither  in  the  most  extraordinary  fuss  and 
hurry.  At  last  I  induced  the  woman  to  join  us;  when  she 
began  to  remonstrate:  "You  do  not  like  my  victuals,  since 
you  eat  so  little."  I  answered  by  praising  the  supper  over  and 
over  again,  and  saying  that  I  had  never  eaten  better  or  with 
heartier  appetite.     Finally,  I  told  her  that  I  had  eaten  quite 


4o8 


CELLINI 


enough.  I  could  not  imagine  why  she  urged  me  so  persist- 
ently to  eat.  After  supper  was  over,  and  it  was  past  the  hour 
of  twenty-one,  I  became  anxious  to  return  to  Trespiano,  in 
order  that  I  might  recommence  my  work  next  morning  in 
the  Loggia.  Accordingly  I  bade  farewell  to  all  the  company, 
and  having  thanked  our  hostess,  took  my  leave. 

I  had  not  gone  three  miles  before  I  felt  as  though  my 
Stomach  was  on  tire,  and  suflfered  such  pain  that  it  seemed 
a  thousand  years  till  I  arrived  at  Trespiano.  However,  it 
pleased  God  that  I  reached  it  after  nightfall  with  great  toil, 
and  immediately  proceeded  to  my  farm,  where  I  went  to  bed. 
During  the  night  I  got  no  sleep,  and  was  constantly  disturbed. 
When  day  broke,  feeling  an  intense  heat  in  my  stomach,  in 
a  moment  I  conceived  that  I  had  eaten  something  poisonous, 
and  racked  my  brains  to  think  what  it  could  possibly  have 
been.  It  came  back  to  my  memory  how  Sbietta's  wife  had 
set  before  me  plates,  and  porringers,  and  saucers  different 
from  the  others,  and  how  that  evil  priest,  Sbietta's  brother, 
after  giving  himself  such  pains  to  do  me  honour,  had  yet 
refused  to  sup  with  us.  Furthermore,  I  remembered  what 
the  priest  had  said  about  Sbietta's  doing  such  a  fine  stroke 
of  business  by  the  sale  of  his  farm  to  an  old  man  for  life,  w'ho 
could  not  be  expected  to  survive  a  year.  Giovanni  Sardella 
had  reported  these  words  to  me.  All  things  considered,  I 
made  my  mind  up  that  they  must  have  administered  a  dose 
of  sublimate  in  the  sauce,  which  was  very  well  made  and 
pleasant  to  the  taste,  inasmuch  as  sublimate  produces  all  the 
symptoms  I  was  suffering  from.  Now  it  is  my  custom  to 
take  but  little  sauce  or  seasoning  with  my  meat,  excepting 
salt;  and  yet  I  had  eaten  two  moderate  mouthfuls  of  that 
sauce  because  it  was  so  tasteful.  On  further  thinking,  I  recol- 
lected how  often  that  wife  of  Sbietta  had  teased  me  in  a  hun- 
dred ways  to  partake  more  freely  of  the  sauce.  On  these  ac- 
counts I  felt  absolutely  certain  that  they  had  given  me  sub- 
limate in  that  verv  dish. 

CV 

Albeit  I  was  suffering  so  severely,  I  forced  myself  to  work 
upon  my  Colossus  in  the  Loggia;  but  after  a  few  days  I  suc- 
cumbed to  the  malady  and  took  to  my  bed.  No  sooner  did 
the  Duchess  hear  that  I  was  ill,  than  she  caused  the  execu- 
tion of  that  unlucky  marble  to  be  assigned  to  Bartolommeo 


MEMOIRS  409 

Ammanato.^  He  sent  word  to  me  through  Messer  .  .  .  Hving 
in  .  .  .  Street,  that  I  might  now  do  what  1  hked  with  my 
model  since  he  had  won  the  marble.  This  Messer  .  .  .  was 
one  of  the  lovers  of  Bartolommeo  Ammanato's  wife;  and 
as  he  was  most  favoured  on  account  of  his  gentle  manners  and 
discretion,  Ammanato  made  things  easy  for  him.  There 
would  be  much  to  say  upon  this  topic;  however,  I  do  not 
care  to  imitate  his  master,  Bandinello,  who  always  wandered 
from  the  subject  in  his  talk.  Suffice  it  to  say  that  I  told  Am- 
manato's messenger  I  had  always  imagined  it  would  turn 
out  thus;  let  the  man  strain  himself  to  the  utmost  in  proof 
of  gratitude  to  Fortune  for  so  great  a  favour  so  undeservedly 
conferred  on  him  by  her. 

All  this  while  I  stayed  with  sorry  cheer  in  bed,  and  was 
attended  by  that  most  excellent  man  and  physician  Maestro 
Francesco  da  Montevarchi.  Together  with  him  Maestro  Raf- 
faello  de'  Pilli  undertook  the  surgical  part  of  my  case,  foras- 
much as  the  sublimate  had  corroded  the  intestines.  When 
Maestro  Francesco  saw  that  the  poison  had  exerted  all  its 
strength,  being  indeed  insufficient  in  quantity  to  overcome 
my  vigorous  constitution,  he  said  one  day:  "  Benvenuto,  re- 
turn thanks  to  God,  for  you  have  won  the  battle.  Have  no 
anxiety,  since  I  mean  to  cure  you  in  spite  of  the  rogues  who 
sought  to  work  your  ruin."  Maestro  Rafifaello  then  put  in: 
"  This  will  be  one  of  the  finest  and  most  difficult  cures  which 
was  ever  heard  of;  for  I  can  tell  you,  Benvenuto,  that  you 
swallowed  a  good  mouthful  of  sublimate."  Thereupon  Maes- 
tro Francesco  took  him  up  and  said:  "  It  may  possibly  have 
been  some  venomous  caterpillar."  I  replied:  "  I  know  for 
certain  what  sort  of  poison  it  was,  and  who  gave  it  to  me ;  " 
upon  which  we  all  were  silent.  They  attended  me  more  than 
six  full  months,  and  I  remained  more  than  a  whole  year  before 
I  could  enjoy  my  life  and  vigour. 

CVI 

At  this  time  ^  the  Duke  went  to  make  his  triumphal  entry 
into  Siena,  and  Ammanato  had  gone  there  some  months 
earlier  to  construct  the  arches.    A  servant  of  his,  who  stayed 

'  What  follows  has  been  so  carefully  erased,  possibly  by  Cellini's  own 
hand,  in  the  autograph,  that  it  is  illegible.  Laura  Battiferra,  Ammanato's 
wife,  was  a  woman  of  irreproachable  character,  whom  Cellini  himself 
praised  in  a  sonnet.  *  October  28,  1560, 


410  CELLINI 

behind  in  the  Loggia,  removed  the  cloths  with  which  I  kept 
my  model  of  Neptune  covered  until  it  should  be  finished. 
As  soon  as  I  knew  this,  I  complained  to  Signor  Don  Fran- 
cesco, the  Duke's  son,  who  was  kindly  disposed  toward  me, 
and  told  him  how  they  had  disclosed  my  still  imperfect  statue; 
had  it  been  finished,  I  should  not  have  given  the  fact  a 
thought.  The  Prince  replied  with  a  threatening  toss  of  his 
head:  "  Benvenuto,  do  not  mind  your  statue  having  been 
uncovered,  because  these  men  are  only  working  against  them- 
selves; yet  if  you  want  me  to  have  it  covered  up,  I  will  do  so 
at  once."  He  added  many  other  words  in  my  honour  before 
a  crowd  of  gentlemen  who  were  there.  I  then  begged  his 
Excellency  to  give  me  the  necessary  means  for  finishing  it, 
saying  that  I  meant  to  make  a  present  of  it  together  with  the 
little  model  to  his  Highness.  He  replied  that  he  gladly  ac- 
cepted both  gifts,  and  that  he  would  have  all  the  conveniences 
I  asked  for  put  at  my  disposal.  Thus,  then,  I  fed  upon  this 
trifling  mark  of  favour,  which,  in  fact,  proved  the  salvation 
of  my  life;  for  having  been  overwhelmed  by  so  many  evils 
and  such  great  annoyances  all  at  one  fell  swoop,  I  felt  my 
forces  failing;  but  this  little  gleam  of  encouragement  inspired 
me  with  some  hope  of  living. 

CVII 

A  year  had  now  passed  since  I  bought  the  farm  of  Delia 
Fonte  from  Sbietta.  In  addition  to  their  attempt  upon  my 
life  by  poisoning  and  their  numerous  robberies,  I  noticed 
that  the  property  yielded  less  than  half  what  had  been  prom- 
ised. Now,  in  addition  to  the  deeds  of  contract,  I  had  a 
declaration  written  by  Sbietta's  own  hand,  in  which  he  bound 
himself  before  witnesses  to  pay  me  over  the  yearly  income 
I  have  mentioned.  Armed  with  these  documents,  I  had  re- 
course to  the  Lords  Counsellors.  At  that  time  Messer 
Alfonso  Quistello  was  still  alive  and  Chancellor  of  the  Ex- 
chequer; he  sat  upon  the  Board,  which  included  Averardo 
Serristori  and  Federigo  de'  Ricci.  I  can  not  remember  the 
names  of  all  of  them,  but  I  know  that  one  of  the  Alessandri 
was  a  member.  Suffice  it  to  say,  the  counsellors  of  that  ses- 
sion were  men  of  weight  and  worth.  When  I  had  explained 
my  cause  to  the  magistracy,  they  all  with  one  voice  ruled  that 
Sbietta  should  give  me  back  my  money,  except  Federigo  de' 


MEMOIRS  411 

Ricci,  who  was  then  employing  the  fellow  himself;  the  others 
unanimously  expressed  sorrow  to  me  that  Federigo  de'  Ricci 
prevented  them  from  despatching  the  affair.  Averardo  Ser- 
ristori  and  Alessandri  in  particular  made  a  tremendous  stir 
about  it,  but  Federigo  managed  to  protect  matters  until  the 
magistracy  went  out  of  office;  whereupon  Serristori,  meeting 
me  one  morning  after  they  had  come  out  upon  the  Piazza 
deir  Annunziata,  cried  aloud,  without  the  least  regard  to 
consequences:  "  Federigo  de'  Ricci  has  been  so  much  stronger 
than  all  of  us  put  together  that  you  have  been  massacred 
against  our  will."  I  do  not  intend  to  say  more  upon  this  topic, 
since  it  would  be  too  offensive  to  the  supreme  authorities  of 
state;  enough  that  I  was  cruelly  wronged  at  the  will  of  a  rich 
citizen,  only  because  he  made  use  of  that  shepherd-fellow. 

CVIII 

The  Duke  was  staying  at  Livorno,  where  I  went  to  visit 
him  in  order  merely  to  obtain  release  from  his  service.  Now 
that  I  felt  my  vigour  returning,  and  saw  that  I  was  used  for 
nothing,  it  pained  me  to  lose  time  which  ought  to  have  been 
spent  upon  my  art.  I  made  my  mind  up,  therefore,  went  to 
Livorno,  and  found  my  prince,  who  received  me  with  exceed- 
ing graciousness.  Now  I  stayed  there  several  days,  and  went 
out  riding  daily  with  his  Excellency.  Consequently  I  had 
excellent  opportunities  for  saying  all  I  wanted,  since  it  was 
the  Duke's  custom  to  ride  four  miles  out  of  Livorno  along  the 
sea-coast  to  the  point  where  he  was  erecting  a  little  fort.  Not 
caring  to  be  troubled  with  a  crowd  of  people,  he  liked  me 
to  converse  with  him.  So  then,  on  one  of  these  occasions, 
having  observed  him  pay  me  some  remarkable  attentions,  I 
entered  into  the  affair  of  Sbietta  and  spoke  as  follows:  "  My 
lord,  I  should  like  to  narrate  to  your  most  illustrious  Excel- 
lency a  very  singular  incident,  which  will  explain  why  I  was 
prevented  from  finishing  that  clay  model  of  Neptune  on  which 
I  was  working  in  the  Loggia.     Your  Excellency  must  know 

that  I  bought  a  farm  for  my  life  from  Sbietta "     To  cut 

the  matter  short,  I  related  the  whole  story  in  detail,  without 
contaminating  truth  with  falsehood.  Now  when  I  came  to 
the  poison,  I  remarked  that  if  I  had  ever  proved  an  accept- 
able servant  in  the  sight  of  his  most  illustrious  Excellency,  he 
ought  not  to  punish  Sbietta  or  those  who  administered  the 


412  CELLINI 

poison,  but  rather  to  confer  upon  them  some  great  benefit, 
inasmuch  as  the  poison  was  not  enough  to  kill  me,  but  had 
exactly  sufficed  to  cleanse  me  of  a  mortal  viscosity  from  which 
I  suffered  in  my  stomach  and  intestines.  "  The  poison," 
quoth  I,  "  worked  so  well,  that  whereas,  before  I  took  it,  I  had 
perhaps  but  three  or  four  years  to  live,  I  verily  believe  now 
that  it  has  helped  me  to  more  than  twenty  years  by  bettering 
my  constitution.  For  this  mercy  I  return  thanks  to  God  with 
greater  heartiness  than  ever;  and  this  proves  that  a  proverb  I 
have  sometimes  heard  spoken  is  true,  which  runs  as  follows: 
'God  send  us  evil  that  may  work  us  good.'" 

The  Duke  listened  to  my  story  through  more  than  two 
miles  of  travel,  keeping  his  attention  fixed,  and  only  uttering: 
"  Oh,  the  villains!  "  I  said,  in  conclusion,  that  I  felt  obliged 
to  them,  and  opened  other  and  more  cheerful  subjects  of  con- 
versation. 

I  kept  upon  the  look-out  for  a  convenient  day;  and  when 
I  found  him  well  disposed  for  what  I  wanted,  I  entreated  his 
most  illustrious  Excellency  to  dismiss  me  in  a  friendly  spirit, 
so  that  I  might  not  have  to  waste  the  few  years  in  which  I 
should  be  fit  to  do  anything.  As  for  the  balance  due  upon  my 
Perseus,  he  might  give  this  to  me  when  he  judged  it  oppor- 
tune. Such  was  the  pith  of  my  discourse:  but  I  expanded  it 
with  lengthy  compliments,  expressing  my  gratitude  toward 
his  most  illustrious  Excellency.  To  all  this  he  made  abso- 
lutely no  answer,  but  rather  seemed  to  have  taken  my  com- 
munication ill.  On  the  following  day  Messer  Bartolommeo 
Concino,^  one  of  the  Duke's  secretaries,  and  among  the  chief- 
est,  came  to  me,  and  said  with  somewhat  of  a  bullying  air: 
"  The  Duke  bids  me  tell  you  that  if  you  want  your  dismissal, 
he  will  grant  it;  but  if  you  choose  work,  he  will  give  you 
plenty:  God  grant  you  may  have  the  power  to  execute  all 
he  orders."  I  replied  that  I  desired  nothing  more  than  work 
to  do,  and  would  rather  take  it  from  the  Duke  than  from  any 
man  whatever  in  the  world.  Whether  they  were  popes,  em- 
perors, or  kings,  I  should  prefer  to  serve  his  most  illustrious 
Excellency  for  a  halfpenny  than  any  of  the  rest  of  them  for  a 
ducat.     He  then  remarked:  "If  that  is  your  mind,  you  and 

•  This  man  was  the  son  of  a  peasant  at  Terranuova,  in  Valdarno.  He 
acquired  great  wealth  and  honour  at  the  court  of  Duke  Cosimo,  and  was 
grandfather  of  the  notorious  Marechal  d'Ancre. 


MEMOIRS 


413 


he  have  struck  a  bargain  without  the  need  of  further  speech. 
So,  then,  go  back  to  Florence,  and  be  unconcerned;  rely  on 
the  Duke's  good-will  toward  you."  Accordingly  I  made  my 
way  again  to  Florence. 

CIX 

Immediately  after  my  arrival,  there  came  to  visit  me  a 
certain  Rafifaellone  Scheggia,  whose  trade  was  that  of  a  cloth- 
of-gold  weaver.  He  began  thus:  "  My  Benvenuto,  I  should 
like  to  reconcile  you  with  Piermaria  Sbietta."  I  replied  that 
nobody  could  settle  the  affairs  between  us  except  the  Lords 
Counsellors;  in  the  present  court  Sbietta  would  not  have  a 
Federigo  de'  Ricci  to  support  him,  a  man  willing,  for  the 
bribe  of  a  couple  of  fatted  kids,  without  respect  of  God  or 
of  his  honour,  to  back  so  infamous  a  cause  and  do  so  vile  a 
wrong  to  sacred  justice.  When  I  had  uttered  these  words, 
and  many  others  to  the  like  effect,  Raffaello  kept  on  blandly 
urging  that  it  was  far  better  to  eat  a  thrush  in  peace  than  to 
bring  a  fat  capon  to  one's  table,  even  though  one  were  quite 
sure  to  get  it,  after  a  hot  fight.  He  further  reminded  me  that 
lawsuits  had  a  certain  way  of  dragging  on,  and  that  I  could 
employ  the  time  far  better  upon  some  masterpiece  of  art, 
which  would  bring  me  not  only  greater  honour,  but  greater 
profit  to  boot.  I  knew  that  he  was  speaking  the  mere  truth, 
and  began  to  lend  ear  to  his  arguments.  Before  long,  there- 
fore, we  arranged  the  matter  in  this  way:  Sbietta  was  to  rent 
the  farm  from  me  at  seventy  golden  crowns  in  gold  the  year, 
during  the  whole  term  of  my  natural  life.  But  when  we 
came  to  the  contract,  which  was  drawn  up  by  Ser  Giovanni, 
son  of  Ser  Matteo  da  Falgano,  Sbietta  objected  that  the  terms 
we  had  agreed  on  would  involve  our  paying  the  largest  duties 
to  the  revenue.  He  was  not  going  to  break  his  word;  there- 
fore we  had  better  draw  the  lease  for  five  years,  to  be  renewed 
on  the  expiry  of  the  term.  He  undertook  to  abide  by  his 
promise  to  renew,  without  raising  further  litigation.  That 
rascal,  the  priest,  his  brother,  entered  into  similar  engage- 
ments; and  so  the  lease  was  drawn  for  five  years. 

CX 

Though  I  want  to  enter  upon  other  topics,  and  to  leave 
all  this  rascality  alone  awhile.  T  am  forced  to  narrate  what 
happened  at  the  termination  of  this  five  years'  contract.     In- 


414  CELLINI 


stead  of  abiding  by  their  promised  word,  those  two  rogues 
declared  they  meant  to  give  me  up  my  farm,  and  would  not 
keep  it  any  longer  upon  lease.  I  not  unnaturally  complained, 
but  they  retorted  by  ostentatiously  unfolding  the  deed;  and 
I  found  myself  without  any  defence  against  their  chicanery. 
When  it  came  to  this,  I  told  them  that  the  Duke  and  Prince 
of  Florence  would  not  suffer  folk  to  be  so  infamously  mas- 
sacred in  their  cities.  That  menace  worked  so  forcibly  upon 
their  minds  that  they  once  more  despatched  Raffaello  Scheg- 
gia,  the  same  man  who  negotiated  the  former  arrangement. 
I  must  add  that  they  professed  their  unwillingness  to  pay 
the  same  rent  of  seventy  crowns  as  during  the  five  years  past, 
while  I  replied  that  I  would  not  take  a  farthing  less.  So  then 
Rafifaello  came  to  look  me  up,  and  spoke  to  this  effect:  "  My 
Benvenuto,  you  know  that  I  am  acting  in  your  interest.  Now 
these  men  have  placed  themselves  entirely  in  my  hands;  "  and 
he  showed  me  a  writing  to  this  effect  signed  by  them.  Not 
being  aware  that  he  was  their  close  relative,!  thought  he  would 
be  an  excellent  arbitrator,  and  therefore  placed  myself  also 
absolutely  in  his  hands.  This  man  of  delicate  honour  then 
came  one  evening  about  a  half  hour  after  sunset,  in  the  month 
of  August,  and  induced  me  with  the  strongest  pressure  to 
draw  up  the  contract  then  and  there.  He  did  so  because  he 
knew  that  if  he  waited  till  the  morning,  the  deceit  he  wished 
to  practise  on  me  must  have  failed.  Accordingly  the  deed 
was  executed,  to  the  effect  that  they  were  to  pay  me  a  rent 
of  sixty-five  crowns,  in  two  half-yearly  instalments,  during 
the  term  of  my  natural  life.  Notwithstanding  I  rebelled 
against  it,  and  refused  to  sit  down  quietly  under  the  injustice, 
all  was  to  no  purpose,  Rafifaello  exhibited  my  signature,  and 
every  one  took  part  against  me.  At  the  same  time  he  went 
on  protesting  that  he  acted  altogether  in  my  interest  and  as 
my  supporter.  Neither  the  notary  nor  any  others  who  heard 
of  the  affair,  knew  that  he  was  a  relative  of  those  two  rogues; 
so  they  told  me  I  was  in  the  wrong.  Accordingly,  I  wa^ 
forced  to  yield  with  the  best  grace  I  could;  and  what  I  have 
now  to  do  is  to  live  as  long  as  I  can  manage. 

Close  after  these  events,  that  is  to  say,  in  the  December 
of  1566  following,  I  made  another  blunder.  I  bought  half 
of  the  farm  Del  Poggio  from  them,  or  rather  from  Sbietta, 
for  two  hundred  crowns.     It  marches  with  my  property  of 


MEMOIRS 


415 


La  Fonte.  Our  terms  were  that  the  estate  should  revert  at 
the  term  of  three  years,  and  I  gave  them  a  lease  of  it.  I 
did  this  for  the  best;  but  I  should  have  to  dilate  too  long 
upon  the  topic  were  I  to  enter  into  all  the  rascalities  they 
practised  on  me.  Therefore,  I  refer  my  cause  entirely  to  God, 
knowing  that  He  hath  ever  defended  me  from  those  who 
sought  to  do  me  mischief. 

CXI 

Having  quite  completed  my  crucifix,  I  thought  that  if  I 
raised  it  to  some  feet  above  the  ground,  it  would  show  better 
than  it  did  upon  a  lower  level.  After  I  had  done  so,  it  pro- 
duced a  far  liner  efifect  than  even  it  had  made  before,  and  I 
was  greatly  satisfied.  So  then  I  began  to  exhibit  it  to  every 
one  who  had  the  mind  to  see  it. 

As  God  willed,  the  Duke  and  the  Duchess  heard  about 
it.  On  their  arrival  then  from  Pisa,  both  their  Excellencies 
arrived  one  day  quite  unexpectedly,  attended  by  all  the  nobles 
of  their  court,  with  the  sole  purpose  of  inspecting  my  crucifix. 
They  were  so  much  delighted,  that  each  of  these  princes  lav- 
ished endless  praises  on  it,  and  all  the  lords  and  gentlefolk 
of  their  suites  joined  in  chorus.  Now,  when  I  saw  how  greatly 
they  were  taken  with  the  piece,  I  began  to  thank  them  with 
a  touch  of  humour,  saying  that,  if  they  had  not  refused  me 
the  marble  for  the  Neptune,  I  should  never  have  undertaken 
so  arduous  a  task,  the  like  whereof  had  not  been  attempted 
by  any  sculptor  before  me.  "  It  is  true,"  I  added,  "  that  this 
crucifix  has  cost  me  hours  of  unimaginable  labour;  yet  they 
have  been  well  expended,  especially  now  when  your  most 
illustrious  Excellencies  have  bestowed  such  praises  on  it.  I 
can  not  hope  to  find  possessors  of  it  worthier  than  you  are; 
therefore  I  gladly  present  it  to  you  as  a  gift."  ^ 

After  speaking  to  this  effect,  I  prayed  them,  before  they 
took  their  leave,  to  deign  to  follow  me  into  the  ground-floor 
of  my  dwelling.  They  rose  at  once  with  genial  assent,  left 
the  workshop,  and  on  entering  the  house,  beheld  my  little 
model  of  the  Neptune  and  the  fountain,  which  had  not  yet 
been  seen  by  the  Duchess.     This  struck  her  with  such  force 

'  Tfiie  Duchess  would  not  take  the  crucifix  as  a  gift.  The  Duke  bought 
it  for  fifteen  hundred  golden  crowns,  and  transferred  it  to  the  Pitti  in  1565. 
It  was  given  by  the  Grand  Duke  Francesco  in  1576  to  Philip  II,  who 
placed  it  in  the  Escorial,  where  it  now  is. 


4i6  CELLINI 

that  she  raised  a  cry  of  indescribable  astonishment,  and  turn- 
ing to  the  Duke,  exclaimed:  "  Upon  my  life,  I  never  dreamed 
it  could  be  one-tenth  part  so  beautiful!"  The  Duke  replied 
by  repeating  more  than  once:  "  Did  I  not  tell  you  so?  "  Thus 
they  continued  talking  together  for  some  while  greatly  in  my 
honour.  Afterward  the  Duchess  called  me  to  her  side;  and 
when  she  had  uttered  many  expressions  of  praise  which 
sounded  like  excuses  (they  might  indeed  have  been  construed 
into  asking  for  forgiveness),  she  told  me  that  she  should  like 
me  to  quarry  a  block  of  marble  to  my  taste,  and  then  to  exe- 
cute the  work.  In  reply  to  these  gracious  speeches  I  said 
that,  if  their  most  illustrious  Excellencies  would  provide  me 
with  the  necessary  accommodations,  I  should  gladly  for  their 
sakes  put  my  hand  to  such  an  arduous  undertaking.  The 
Duke  responded  on  the  moment:  "  Benvenuto,  you  shall  have 
all  the  accommodations  you  can  ask  for;  and  I  will  myself 
give  you  more  besides,  which  shall  surpass  them  far  in  value." 
With  these  agreeable  words  they  left  me,  and  I   remained 

highly  satisfied. 
^    ^  CXII 

Many  weeks  passed,  but  of  me  nothing  more  was  spoken. 
This  neglect  drove  me  half  mad  with  despair.  Now  about 
that  time  the  Queen  of  France  sent  Messer  Baccio  del  Bene 
to  our  Duke  for  a  loan  of  money,  which  the  Duke  very  gra- 
ciously supplied,  as  rumour  went.  Messer  Baccio  del  Bene 
and  I  had  been  intimate  friends  in  former  times;  so  when 
we  renewed  our  acquaintance  in  Florence,  we  came  together 
with  much  mutual  satisfaction.  In  course  of  conversation 
he  related  all  the  favours  shown  him  by  his  most  illustrious 
Excellency,  and  asked  me  what  great  works  I  had  in  hand. 
In  reply,  I  narrated  the  whole  story  of  the  Neptune  and  the 
fountain,  and  the  great  wrong  done  me  by  the  Duchess.  He 
responded  by  telling  me  how  her  Majesty  of  France  was  most 
eager  to  complete  the  monument  of  her  husband  Henri  II, 
and  how  Daniello  da  Volterra  ^  had  undertaken  a  great  eques- 
trian statue  in  bronze,  but  the  time  had  already  elapsed  in 
which  he  promised  to  perform  it,  and  that  a  multitude  of  the 
richest  ornaments  were  required  for  the  tomb.  If,  then,  I 
liked  to  return  to  France  and  occupy  my  castle,  she  would 

'  This  painter  is  chiefly  famous  for  his  "Descent  from  the  Cross"  in 
the  Church  of  the  Triniti  de'  Monti  at  Rome.     He  died  in  1566. 


MEMOIRS  .,- 

supply  me  with  all  the  conveniences  I  could  ask  for,  pro- 
vided only  I  cared  to  enter  her  service.     These  proposals  he 
made  on  the  part  of  the  Queen.    I  told  Messer  Baccio  to  beg 
me   from  the   Duke;  if  his   most   illustrious   Excellency   was 
satisfied,  I  should  very  willingly  return  to  France.     He  an- 
swered cheerfully:  "  We  will  travel  back  together!  "  and  con- 
sidered the  affair  settled.     Accordingly,  next  day,  in  course 
of  conversation  with  the  Duke,  he  alluded  to  myself,  declar- 
ing that  if  his  Excellency  had  no  objection,  the  Queen  would 
take  me  into  her  employ.     The  Duke  replied  without  a  mo- 
ment's hesitation:  "  Benvenuto's  ability  in   his  profession   is 
known  to  the  whole  world;  but  at  the  present  time  he  does 
not  care  to  go  on  working."     Then  they  touched  on  other 
topics;  and  upon  the  day  following  I  called  on  Messer  Baccio, 
who  reported  what  had  passed  between  them.     Then  I  lost 
all  patience,  and  exclaimed:  "Oh,  me!     His  most  illustrious 
Excellency  gave  me  nothing  to  do,  while  I  was  bringing  to 
perfection  one  of  the  most  difficult  masterpieces  ever  exe- 
cuted in  this  world;  and  it  stands  me  in  more  than  two  hun- 
dred crowns,  which   I   have  paid  out  of  my  poverty!     Oh 
what  could  I  not  have  done  if  his  Excellency  had  but  set  m 
to  work!     I  tell  you  in  pure  truth,  that  they  have  done  r 
a  great  wrong!"     The  good-natured  gentleman  repeater' 
the  Duke  what  I  had  answered.    The  Duke  told  him  we  - 
joking,  and  that  he  wanted  me  for  his  own  service.    T 
suit  was  that  in  my  irritation  I  more  than  once  made 
mind  to  make  off  without  asking  leave.     However,  tb 
preferred  to  drop  negotiations,  in  fear  of  displeasing  t 
and  so  I  remained  here,  much  to  my  regret. 

CXIII 
About  that  time  the  Duke  went  on  a  journey, 
all  his  court  and  all  his  sons,  except  the  prince, 
Spain.     They  travelled  through  the  Sienese  M; 
by  this  route  he  reached  Pisa.     The  poison  froi 
of  those  marshes  first  attacked  the  Cardinal,  \\ 
with  a  pestilential  fever  after  a  few  davs,  and  c 
of  a  brief  illness.     He  was  the  Duke's  right 
and  good,  and  his  loss  was  most  severelv  felt, 
eral  days  to  elapse,  until  I  thought  their  tears 
then  I  betook  myself  to  Pisa. 

[Here  Benvenuto  Cellini  abruptly  ends  his  Mem 
27 


Tl 
that 
to  ou 
cioush 
and  I   1 
we  renev 
with  muc 
he  related 
Excellency 
In  reply,  I 
fountain,  an> 
responded  by 
eager  to  corri 
and  how  Dani 
trian  statue  in 
which  he  prom 
richest  ornamei 
liked  to  return 

'  This  painter  is 
the  Church  of  the  Tr. 


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